Kaytlan is a cancer fighter in her 20's and was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia in December of 2022. She had to discontinue work to do extensive chemo treatment and was required to stay in the hospital for weeks at a time. The loss of income and mounting hospital bills became a massive burden and Tony Foundation was honored to be able to support her and her family, which includes two young children, during their time of need.
When we presented her with a check for $5,000, I found out she was actually in the middle of a hospital stay while we were on our zoom call together. I asked if I could come visit Kaytlan and a couple days later we ended up having the most wonderful 1 hour visit in her hospital room. We exchanged cancer stories, talked about our children, the burdens of a cancer diagnosis, and so many other things. The through line for us was attitude and faith. She had a really positive view and outlook on her situation and that really reminded me of my own battle. She wasn't going to let cancer win. She had a will power that was obvious on our call and even more so when I was in-person with her two days later at the hospital. When the nurse came in to administer her chemo, we were talking and she didn't break stride. The chemo had become a part of her routine and she was nice to the nurse and you could tell the nurses really enjoyed Kaytlan's company as a patient.
Kaytlan mentioned to me how nice it was to have someone there that understood the battle she was facing and it felt really good for me to be there for her as well. It is always such an amazing experience to get to know a stranger and then a short time later be able to call them your friend and even "Tony Foundation family". I will always cherish the talks we had that day. When I was leaving the hospital that day the valet worker downstairs said, "I thought you were only going to be up there for 15 minutes." I just replied, "it was a special chat between 2 cancer fighters." He handed me my keys and smiled and said he would pray for us. The world can be really wonderful if you choose to see it that way.
Kaytlan and her family pictured below..
