Our fellow Bobcats Lonnie and Shauna McMillan could use this community's support as they face a difficult health situation with their seven-year-old son Caleb. He has been diagnosed with Cerebral Andrenoleukodystrophy (CALD) -- an aggressive form of a genetic disease which affects the adrenal glands, spinal cord and the myelin of the nervous system. It is progressive and, tragically,can result in death.
The good news is that there is a new gene therapy that has shown promising results. It has risks, of course, but it is Caleb's best shot at surviving this challenge. I know almost all of us have experienced difficult health challenges with family members and I know some in my own circle who have faced them with children. It is exhausting and can be expensive. I know, too, that support from others helps families face down these difficulties.
We first got to know Lonnie and Shauna when our son was part of the basketball program. We saw them at both home and road games often. They are fun and kind people and we appreciated their support. Before too long they became parents of Tyler (age 9) and Caleb. As the boys got older, we haven't seen them around nearly as much because of the various academic, scouting and athletic activities in which they participate. It's been fun keeping up with their family via social media. It is a humbling privilege for our family to support them in their time of need.
So what can people in this community do? Lonnie and Shauna have laid this out social media postings. We can offer positive thoughts/prayers that are aligned with our individual values. We can participate in a bone marrow registry which helps some patients. While some of us may not be in a position to do so right now, financial contributions can be made to help offset out of network care, travel expenses to/from the hospital and other family needs due to disrupted work.
With permission from our moderators and the McMillans, I'm posting a link to the Go Fund Me site:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/operation-save-caleb?qid=d68e5... Thanks for supporting Caleb, Tyler, Shauna and Lonnie in whatever ways you can.
Update article link:
http://www.dailychiefunion.com/featured/mcmillan-family-p...
Last Edited: 1/23/2023 8:34:32 PM by Joe McKinley