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Heather’s Story

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Mercy Health - Cincinnati, OH

You helped Heather stay near the hospital for daily cancer treatments

Heather Strait’s world turned upside down the day she was diagnosed with leukemia. Your gift gave her one less thing to worry about during months of cancer treatments.

It all started one day when Heather and her family were moving. She went to the hospital to get a blood transfusion for what she thought was anemia. Instead, she was diagnosed with leukemia, and it would be another two months before she could see her family again.

“I didn’t even have time to say goodbye to my children,” Heather said. “They were all very young and didn’t understand what was going on. It was so difficult for all of us.”

With her family in another state, the stay-at-home mother of four went through two full rounds of chemotherapy before she was able to rejoin her family. Even then she spent a week each month undergoing treatments.

Thanks to you, the cost of a hotel was covered when Heather needed daily treatments but lived an hour away from the medical facility.

 

“You may not realize how much you are helping with even a few dollars, but your gift allowed me to focus on my health and my family.”

 

In early 2022, she was matched for a bone marrow transplant. That meant more time in Mercy Health's Jewish Hospital, followed by several weeks in a hotel to be near the hospital.

“I’m so appreciative of anyone who makes those donations—I can’t even put it into words,” she said.