Helping Out

A bunch of you have asked us if we have a "donation" account set up, where people could donate money to help pay Alex's medical bills. At first, we thought, "we don't need that, we have insurance", but now we realize that the co-pays, deductibles, and a possible lifetime cap, could really add up quick. We are just getting our heads wrapped around what our insurance will provide us. So, we contacted our bank, and they are in the process of setting up a "donation account" nationwide for people to help us. I will update the blog with the info as soon as we have it available.

Here are some other ways that you can help:

While donations to these organizations doesn't go directly to Alex, it will help these groups help families like us:

Children's Cancer Association (CCA)
http://www.childrenscancerassociation.org/

American Cancer Society (ACS)
http://www.cancer.org/

Doerenbecher Charitable Foundation (DCF)
http://www.ohsu.edu/xd/about/dchf/

Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS)
http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/hm_lls

Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation
http://www.candlelighters.org/

Alex will be receiving blood and platelet transfusions from the blood supply of the American Red Cross. Please consider donating blood in Alex's honor here: http://www.givelife.org/.

While Alex won't need a bone marrow transplant, a lot of kids with cancer do. If you are interested in getting your bone marrow tested, and adding your name to the bone marrow donor bank, you can do so here: http://www.marrow.org/.

I also encourage *all* of our friends and family who are pregnant, or who are planing on becoming pregnant to talk to their doctors about cord blood and either donating it, or storing it for your child. You can find out more about this amazing option here:
http://www.marrow.org/HELP/Donate_Cord_Blood_Share_Life/index.html