Shining A Light

In August 2021, five-year-old Sawyer should have been starting his first day of kindergarten in St. Johns, MI. Instead, Sawyer spent the day starting chemotherapy for a devastating diagnosis of B-Acute Lymphatic Leukemia. For parents Katie and Robert, and Sawyer’s three siblings, then 14, 13, and 1, Sawyer’s illness turned their world upside down, and life as they knew it would never be the same.

To keep up with Sawyer’s numerous appointments and hospitalizations, Katie was forced to take an unpaid leave of absence from her job of ten years as a substitute teacher and paraprofessional aide. The loss of her income was a major blow to a family already facing overwhelming medical obstacles - weekly doctor visits, unexpected hospital stays, daily trips for blood draws, fluids, transfusion, chemotherapy, and more added up to a mountain of expenses, on top of working hard to keep things as normal as possible for Sawyer’s three siblings.

To make ends meet, Robert regularly picked up extra shifts at his job as a semi-truck driver for Martin Braur, but it often wasn’t enough to cover the gap left by Katie’s loss of income and Sawyer’s massive hospital bills. 

In her initial grant application, Katie opened up about the toll that this heartbreaking journey has taken on their family. 

“People ask how you are doing…and that is such a loaded question. Most days are not bad, but the days that are bad, well they make me want to hide in my closet and cry. When Daddy can't be at the hospital because he has to pick up an extra shift to help us make ends meet, I cry that I have to say Daddy has to work. There just doesn't seem to be enough hands or time on those days…

I guess this is my opening up the darkness that has seemed to loom over my family and asking for help. This is me removing my brave face to seek help for my family to help bridge the gap that my income once provided. I now realize the value I provided for my family, even though I did not recognize it at the time. I am tired of feeling like I am drowning most days and would like to be afloat for peace of mind. Maybe then, Robert wouldn't have to work extra to survive and could be around more for Sawyer. Money does not buy happiness, but I now realize it can help provide peace of mind.”

Thanks to your generosity and support, Fund a Life was honored to award this family a $10,000 grant in August 2022, to ease their financial burdens and provide peace of mind as they continue Sawyer’s brave battle against cancer.

In October 2022, Sawyer transitioned into maintenance treatment, and continues to receive chemotherapy, in addition to regular Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, IV antibiotics, labs, and intermittent IVIG infusions. With remission from B-Acute Lymphatic Leukemia not typically considered until three years into treatment, Sawyer will continue treatment until early 2024.