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Help Andrew slay cancer


ANDREW'S STORY

“Never in a million years, did we think that Andrew would get cancer too.”
20 years ago, Andrew Bulicek was a dear childhood friend with Aria Lams who was navigating her Hero’s Journey with Leukemia. Andrew and the Bulicek family were incredible Allies of the Lams Family during the years of chemo treatments, 2 bone marrow transplants, and her heartbreaking and untimely death at age 10 1/2 .
Aria & Andrew 2002

Today, Andrew is going through his own Hero’s Journey with cancer.
He was diagnosed with Lymphoma in January 2019 and was successfully brought into remission through his care at UCSD. However, a secondary cancer was recently detected. So far, he has responded to this new round of chemo, but that is not enough.

This time he will need a stem cell transplant.
Unfortunately, his three siblings were not a donor match, so a recent search in the donor bank resulted in a perfect match from a young gentleman in Germany.

The transplant has now been scheduled to begin at the end of July.
Andrew will be admitted and receive a chemo ablation regimen in order to prepare his body to receive these life saving stem cells. Then he will have an inpatient recovery period where he will be carefully monitored as the cells eventually graft into his body. This could be anywhere from 5-6 weeks.

Andrew's Allies are stepping up to support him as he navigates these challenging times.
Since Andrew will be hospitalized for an extended period, he will continue to miss work and income. Once his treatment is completed, he will need to find a new place to live where his mom (Sue) and sister (Sarah) will take on the role as 24/7 primary caretakers. The post-transplant recovery period is estimated to be 100 days or more.

How you can help:
1. Pray for Andrew’s complete healing.
2. Contribute to this campaign to support Andrew’s expenses
3. Share this campaign with your friends and family to raise support and awareness.


UPDATE 7/8/23


thank you ♡

(ps - it makes the most sense to me to have all updates continue to be in one spot. so rather than making new fundraiser with a new goal, i updated the goal from 2020~)


UPDATE 7/1/21


Hi, everyone! It’s been awhile since we last updated you on Andrew and his progress. Thank you all for your continued support and prayers. Andrew is making good progress and doing well. It’s hard to believe that next month we will be celebrating his one year anniversary from his stem cell transplant. We are so grateful.

As Andrew approaches this exciting milestone, his next step will be living independently and free from caregivers. He has been so patient and resilient throughout all the stages of his recovery and we cannot wait to see him take this next step forward! 

With moving out on his own in the near future, all prayers, love and support are welcomed. We thank you ALL for your genorsity over the past year♥️


UPDATE 2/17/21

A huge thank you to all whom have prayed, called, texted and generously donated. We are so happy to be able to update the page with good news!

Andrew is recovering at home and gaining more strength each day. We are so grateful to have him home :)

Thankfully, his clot did not require surgery. The doctors have switched his medication and are carefully watching him to avoid any further complications with clotting.

Even on positive and brighter days, thoughts and prayers are always welcomed. We are looking forward to the next few weeks, as he continues to recover and his birthday approaches on March 4th. Stay tuned for a wishlist if you would like to send him a little something to celebrate with him from afar!

Sending lots of love to you all. Thank you again for all of your generous support. XO


UPDATE 1/31/21

We are asking for prayers and support as Andrew and his family await answers after he was admitted to the hospital for a blood clot in his arm on Friday.

We are in admiration of his continued strength - physically, mentally and emotionally. He is an inspiration to us. He remains positive and in good spirits, despite the pain and tightness at the site of the clot and limited range of motion.

We are awaiting the results of the blood cultures to rule out any underlying infection, as well as a possible surgery to remove theclot entirely, depending upon the results and how the next few days go.

For now, he is on a medication via IV to aid in the reduction of swelling, which hopefully will help mitigate his pain.

We are beyond thankful for the care team he has at UCSD. As always, we cannot thank you enough for taking the time to read/share the updates, for your continued generous donations and your prayers and love.


UPDATE 12/22/20

It's been a while and we wanted to let you know what's going on with Andrew. Overall, his recovery post-transplant has gone well. Blood counts continue to normalize and he is regularly monitored and tested to make sure he is on the right path. 

However, over the past several weeks, Andrew has been experiencing pain in his knees along with most recently, swelling in his legs and ankles. After 2 ER visits this week and various scans, a blood clot was detected in his left leg. Thankfully it was caught at this stage!! Andrew has been admitted to the hospital to administer IV blood thinners along with tests and scans to determine if there are any more clots. So far, it is just the one. The hope is that he will be discharged by Christmas. 

Andrew wants you to know how incredibly grateful he is for your kindness, prayers, and financial support. You really showed up for him during this challenging time and it will never be forgotten.

Some of you have expressed ways to help aside from financial contributions (which continue to be vital at this time). Andrew is putting together a wish list of items and we will post these soon.

In the meantime, may you and yours be blessed during this holiday season. May LOVE, HOPE, PEACE, JOY, and HEALING reign over all of us as we complete 2020.


UPDATE 10/23/2020

GOOD NEWS! Andrew’s transplant was successful and he was discharged from the hospital in September!!! 

We delayed sharing this report in order to give his family time to quietly settle in to their new normal. 

While we celebrate the good news on this front, Andrew and family are met with the new challenges of recovery. Since his immune system is compromised, he has to stay in his apartment and only eat home-cooked meals for 100 days post transplant. 

He also continues to visit the clinic several times a week for blood work and follow up treatments. 

At this time, Sue and Sarah are Andrew’s caregivers; cooking, cleaning, running errands, and providing emotional support. 

They still need our prayers and financial support during this time, as there are many expenses associated with this newest chapter in the journey.

Thank you again to all who have so generously contributed. 

Stay tuned for more updates to follow.


UPDATE 9/3/2020

It was confirmed that Andrew has Graft vs. Host Disease in his stomach. Thankfully, he was already on steroids before the diagnosis. Also, he is eating a little bit better, for which we are very grateful. Thank you for your healing prayers. 


UPDATE 8/30/2020

Andrew is still experiencing the ups and down in his recovery journey. We are grateful that his vitals are stable and he hasn’t had a fever in the last few days. 

The issues at hand are a fungal infection in his respiratory system, for which he is receiving IV antifungal meds. He is also being tested for Graft vs. Host, which is a potential side effect from any kind of organ/blood transplantation. Basically, the transplant recipient’s immune system tries to attack the donor’s new cells as a foreign body. There are special medications to minimize these effects, but it takes some trial and error to get it balanced. Also, due to chemo treatments, Andrew’s taste buds have changed, so eating is more challenging. 

Overall, he is still in the healing process and we are standing by his side as his allies. While we are getting closer to the financial goal (thanks to all of you who have contributed), we still have a ways to go. If you haven’t given yet, or would like to donate again, please help us reach this financial goal so that Andrew is taken care of with lodging and care throughout his recovery time.

A HUGE THANK YOU!!!


UPDATE 8/23/2020

The journey continues to unfold. Andrew still has some of the side effects mentioned in previous updates, but slowly things are turning around. The engraftment is going very well so far, for which we are all grateful. 

Please pray for mental and physical strength, as it is challenging to be in this unfamiliar territory. This truly is part of every Hero's Journey. Andrew and the Bulicek Family continue to be blessed by your loving and generous support in every way. Thank you!!!! 


UPDATE 8/19/2020

Andrew is on the Recovery Rollercoaster. He was moved out of ICU and back to the transplant floor. Then in the middle of the night, he was transferred to another area for suspicions of Covid. Thankfully he tested negative. He continues to have some pain in his feet and chest, along with a flareup of mucositis; side-effects from the treatments.

However, there is good news. The engraftment is going very well, for which we are all grateful. 


UPDATE 8/17/2020

Andrew is doing better in some ways and struggling in others. He still has pain in his feet and a sharp pain in his chest. The medical team is continuing to adjust meds to get the pain under control. The graft is taking well and if all continues to improve, he could be discharged in a week or so. 


UPDATE 8/16/2020

Andrew's fever has come down and his vitals are normalizing, including oxygen levels. The current nasty side effects are neuropathy in his feet, for which the medical team is trying to find the best pain management, and mucositis which makes it very difficult to talk or swallow.

GOOD NEWS has arrived. The engraftment from the donor cells has been detected in Andrew's blood. This came 2 days sooner than expected!!! These painful side effects should begin to lessen as the new stem cells take up residence in his body. Thank you for your kindness and prayers. 


UPDATE 8/14/2020  URGENT!!!!

Andrew was admitted to ICU during the middle of the night, exhibiting low blood pressure, an elevated heart rate, and high fever. The doctors have confirmed he has pneumonia from the extreme mucositis, as saliva got into his lungs and caused infection. He is on heavy antibiotics and is expected to get better within 24 hours or so, although his symptoms may worsen initially.

While Andrew has had no family allowed to visit him during the transplant (due to Covid), gratefully they have made an exception for Sue to be with him today and Sarah to be with him tomorrow. Thank you for your prayers and love. 


UPDATE 8/13/2020

Today is Day 9 post-transplant. So far, everything is on track!!! Currently, Andrew is experiencing the expected side-effects of having zero blood counts. Besides fatigue, he has mucositis, which makes it extremely painful to talk or even swallow saliva. He is being treated for the pain and it should resolve over the weekend when the new cells begin to graft and his blood counts begin to rise. Please pray for his speedy recovery through this phase. 

Sue and Sarah are on the hunt for an apartment where Andrew can convalesce and be cared for once he is released from the hospital (which could be as early as Aug. 22nd!) Thanks to the generous donations, they will be able to cover some of these expenses. 

Although the physical challenges are great in this moment, Andrew is in good spirits and very optimistic about his full recovery. Thanks to all you have donated and prayed for Andrew. The Bulicek family are incredibly grateful. 


UPDATE 8/6/2020

Andrew received the transplant on August 4th and it went very well. Now, his blood counts will fluctuate over the next few weeks. Please keep him in your prayers as he recovers. Thank you so much!


UPDATE 8/1/2020

Andrew was admitted to UCSD to begin preparation for his transplant which is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, August 4th. He is strong and in great spirits. Thank you for your donations and prayers. It means so much to the Bulicek family.
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Donations 

  • Sharon Reiner
    • $50 
    • 8 mos
  • Pamela O’Quinn
    • $100 
    • 8 mos
  • Jean-Paul Jones
    • $25 
    • 8 mos
  • Anonymous
    • $50 
    • 8 mos
  • Carol Jaramillo
    • $50 
    • 8 mos
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Organizer

Andrew Bulicek
Organizer
Las Vegas, NV

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