November 14th 2019 Bill was diagnosed with Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS). MDS is a form of blood cancer that can turn into leukemia if it gets worse. In MDS, the bone marrow doesn't make blood cells normally. Since being diagnosed, Bill has made a trip to  Barnes in St. Louis to help develop a treatment plan and once back home, in Springfield, he began on a chemotherapy called Azacitidine and will remain on it as long as possible. He also will need a bone marrow transplant. Both his daughters (Angela & Amie) and sister Carol have been tested and recently found to be a 1/2 match to him. We await to hear from his doctors, but we pray that this will be good enough for one of us to be his donor. In the meantime Bill will get blood transfusions and plasma as needed.

Please continue to pray for Bill and his family as they will face many obstacles in the future but hope for many triumphs as well! Like with any medical illness comes great medical bills. We are working on sitting up this account not only to allow to you follow Bill's Battle and bring awareness to MDS but to allow donations to help cover some of his medical costs. Please don't feel obligated but if you are able to, we would greatly appreciate any amount of donation! Thank you to all the friends and family who have reached out to us in one way or another. Feel free to leave encouraging messages on here or on Bill's Facebook page "Bill's Battle" and please share all you can. 

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!