For those of you who know Levi, know that this last month has carried many unexpected events in his life.
Also, for those of you who may not know the whole story… hang on tight.
On March 26th, Levi was at work just like any ordinary day. He went to drink some water and shortly after was experiencing chest pain, arm weakness, cold sweats, and vomiting. He then knew something wasn't quite right and asked someone from work to bring him to the hospital. About half way there he decided he felt much better and that they could turn around and go back to work. The symptoms came back shortly and wouldn't let up; so they decided he really needed to go to the hospital. When Levi got there, they ran some tests and saw on the EKG that Levi was having a heart attack. A very bad one at that. Long story short, Levi had a STEMI in the LAD artery (also known as the “widow maker”). Not many people survive this heart attack so clearly God has big plans for Levi and this heart attack wasn't going to stop him. Levi then had a stent placed a couple of days later to keep that artery open. He was then hospitalized for 7 days and got to come home on Easter Sunday.
But the story doesn't end there. While in the hospital there were some complications and the doctors noticed his white blood cell count was VERY low. They then wanted to perform a bone marrow biopsy before discharging him from the hospital. FYI they don't have an anesthesia team on the weekends so Levi was as brave (or crazy) as ever and did it anyways! It was about 10 days after his heart attack that he got the results back from the hematology and oncology team. Nothing could have prepared us for what they found. Levi was diagnosed on April 5th with HCL (hairy cell leukemia) ... They proceeded to tell him that his bone marrow is 60% to 70% cancer cells. They began to discuss treatment options and due to his recent heart attack, they wanted to wait a couple weeks before starting chemo to allow time for his heart to heal. On April 23rd Levi embarked on the journey of chemo treatments for one week. As I am writing this, he just got done with his second round of chemo and so far, so good. The doctors have high hopes for Levi and noted that 2/3 patients with HCL go into remission 9-12 months after chemo. We all know Levi WILL be 1 of the 3 that will BEAT this nasty disease.
And to top it off, Levi and Mel are also preparing for a wedding this JUNE. Doctors gave them the go ahead to continue with their wedding plans but obviously this was a huge curve ball for them. Levi was placed under the care of St Mary’s hospital in Rochester, MN. With it being so far away, meals, hotels, medical bills, and time off work has created a financial burden on them. I have set this up in hopes of being able to raise enough money for them to cover all the expenses they have had and to hopefully take one small problem off their minds, so they can focus on saying "I do".
None the less, Levi is in very high spirits and knows he is going to the kick the you know what out of this stupid cancer. Levi has the biggest heart and still to this day does not feel like he is a victim, because that's who Levi is. He is a fighter, a survivor, a giver, a free spirit, and through it all he still has the best sense HUMOR. Please help me make this hard time a little easier on them. I can’t thank all of you enough. God is good, and PEOPLE, hug those you love and cherish every moment.
