Amanda Mackert

On June 23, 2016, Amanda Mackert was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia, or AML for short.  At the time of her diagnosis, she was almost 18 weeks pregnant.  The diagnosis came as a complete shock; once the disease was discovered she was immediately sent to Sarah Cannon Cancer Center in Nashville to start chemotherapy treatment.  There has been a tremendous outpouring of support and encouragement since the AML was discovered.  So many people have inquired about the Mackert's needs and how they can help.  While their needs will be changing and ongoing, below is a quick summary of where they are right now and what would be the most helpful to them.  Thank you for all of your thoughts, prayers, messages, kind words and then some.  Amanda will be posting some journal entries to fill in more of the details of what has been happening leading up to and since the diagnosis.    



- The most immediate need that the Mackerts have is money.  Because of the diagnosis, Amanda is going to be out of work for the foreseeable future.  Having been the primary breadwinner for their family, this lack of income creates financial difficulty.  If you feel compelled to donate financially to help the Mackerts, please do so through their Venmo account (account info.) or feel free to send a check by mail to their home address: 1507 Stratford Avenue, Nashville, TN 37216.  
- Another way to help financially would be through gift cards.  Right now, Kroger or Amazon gift cards would be the most helpful.  
- For those of you who know John, he had already been wrestling with career and what to do next prior to Amanda's diagnosis.  With Amanda's situation, the need for a good job with benefits has become more urgent.  We would appreciate your prayers in this area, specifically that John could find a job that fits his skill sets and allows him to provide for his family.  If you happen to know of something or want to talk to John in further detail about this, please e-mail him at john.r.mackert@gmail.com or call 706.284.2252.
- In order to keep Amanda away from any possibility of illness once she comes home from the hospital, we are asking that people refrain from bringing meals at this time.  Amanda's immune system is very low due to the chemotherapy and can easily pick up any illness that could become a serious complication in the midst of the AML.  Thank you for understanding.     
We will be keeping this site up to date as needs change so feel free to check back in if you want to continue helping the Mackerts.
If you have any questions about additional ways to help the Mackerts, please email Lindsey at castleman.lindsey@gmail.com or Heidi at heidifaithspencer@gmail.com