Help leah fight her cancer

SO WHAT HAPPENS NOW?

In the middle of racing to meet the critical need to raise the initial goal of $650,000.00 for the deposit for the CAR-T treatment that Leah needed to save her life, the BC ministry of health stepped in and said they would pay Leah’s medical expenses for the CD19 CAR-T at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Centre

. These funds will help us pay for all of the additional costs that the ministry of Health will not be covering, like accommodations, travel and the costs of living through this immediate season and the very unpredictable season ahead. It also enables Ryan and Leah to have the peace of knowing that they have funds to fall back on if the treatments in Seattle and the bone marrow transplant that must follow it in Vancouver fails.

We want this all to be over and for Leah to be healed and go back to a normal life, but the reality is that a large majority of people with the kind of Leukemia that Leah has relapse within the first year after CAR-T treatment and bone marrow transplants. Most people, if they live, end up having to go on to other CAR-T treatments and another bone marrow transplant and further medical treatments.

The thing that we all have to face is that Ryan and Leah’s future well-being is not at all guaranteed. They have been fighting this Leukemia for over a year, and and this battle can very easily become a 2 or 3 year fight and even longer. We don’t even know for sure if Leah will make it through this CAR-T treatment. We don’t know if for the next 3 years Ryan and Leah will have to fight this over and over again and not be able to return to work.

We are committed to do everything in our power to make it possible, no matter what comes Ryan and Leah’s way, that they will have all that they need to face it without having to worry about money being the determining factor in whether she lives or dies, like this last situation was.

We were not expecting the Ministry of health in BC to come to Leah’s aid. It was an unbelievable blessing that they did, but it put us in a bit of a predicament. We have had to figure out what to do next. The extremely urgent goals that we were raising the money for have been met by the the government, and yet we know that the future for Ryan and Leah may require every single dollar that has been raised and much more if things do not go well. We also know that there are numbers of fundraisers that are still going on and there are hundreds if not thousands of people who want to give to Ryan And Leah’s needs with of the government stepped in to help Leah or not. So this is the decision we have come up with:

AS OF TODAY WE ARE OFFICIALLY ENDING THE FUNDRAISER FOR THE CAR-T MEDICAL EXPENSES AND THE LIVING EXPENSES NEEDED FOR THE SEATTLE TREATMENT. These expenses to show that the goal and the amount raised are the same.

For those who still strongly feel to go ahead with the fundraising efforts you set in place for Ryan and Leah and for those who still strongly feel to give to them to help secure their ability to face the potential medical uncertainties ahead,

IF IT TURNS OUT THAT LEAH IS HEALED/CURED THE REMAINING FUNDS BEYOND RYAN AND LEAH’s IMMEDIATE FAMILY NEEDS WILL BE GIVEN TO HELP OTHER LEUKAEMIA PATIENTS WHO FIND THEMSELVES FACING THE SAME LIFE THREATENING FINANCIAL CHALLENGES RYAN AND LEAH HAVE FACED.

For those of you who have given sacrificially in order to meet these goals we can say with confidence that all the funds you have given will go to meet Ryan and Leah’s medical and living expenses over these next very difficult months and in the very uncertain seasons ahead. You have done very well and have blessed us abundantly. We are very grateful for everything that all of you have done to help save Leah and help her family.

In much love and gratitude

Mike and Moe Rosenau and Family, Tim and Joleen Wiebe and family

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THURSDAY, JULY 13, 2017-

IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ MOST RECENT UPDATE!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!! MIRACLES DO HAPPEN!!

This is just the beginning of Leah's journey to recovery. Please continue to give if you have the means.

This week Leah's father and a friend of the family contacted the BC Ministry of Health to work with the Ministry, the oncologist and the amazing team at the Fred Hutch Cancer Center in Seattle to find a solution for Leah's critical, time-sensitive need. Today (July 13th) the Ministry assembled an emergency committee to review Leah's case and at 1PM this afternoon they issued their approval to provide funding for out-of-country medical expenses for Leah while she is participating in the CAR-T therapy trial in Seattle.

Today Leah also received results from her lab work that indicated she is still eligible to participate in the trial and the family is now planning to travel to Seattle next week to begin the treatment.

While the government will cover her planned medical expenses for the CART-T trial, any emergency or unrelated medical expenses are NOT covered. Leah and her family will have to live in Seattle for a minimum of 3 months while she is enrolled in the trial. She is an outpatient during the trial; no living expenses are covered. The funding does NOT cover living & travel costs for Leah or her family. It also does NOT cover prescriptions, emergency procedures or any other unforeseen costs related to treatment.

All indications are that once Leah completes the therapy she will need to return to Vancouver for a bone marrow transplant which requires a hospital stay of at least 6 weeks.

The treatment that Leah will be getting is revolutionary in the fight against cancer. One of the miracles that affected the decision of the Ministry of Heath to fund Leah's CAR-T treatment came just in time for Leah. In fact, it arrived yesterday (July 12th). The FDA unanimously endorsed CAR-T therapy. You can read about that in the article below.

Leah's recovery is the concerted focus of her family and as such they have almost no income and must rely on the generosity and support given others. GOD BLESS ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE SUPPORTED LEAH THUS FAR!.