Local Emergency Volunteer With Blood Cancer Asks For Help

ROMEOVILLE, IL — Andrew Fredericks, a 26-year-old Romeoville Emergency Management volunteer, was diagnosed with Polycythemia, a rare blood cancer, in June 2018. His family says he hasn't been the same since and has struggled both financially and emotionally over the past six months.

They have set up a GoFundMe page to help with at least half that struggle, so far raising $11,360, just over half of their $20,000 goal.

"Andrew has been through so much in the past years," his mother, Karen Fredericks, and Aunt, Mary Linklater, write. "In 2014, he had brain surgery to remove an ACTH secreting adenoma from his Pituitary that was causing Cushing’s Disease that massively altered his mood and weight. In 2015, we almost lost him to septic shock, and we were told he had a 1-in-5 chance of survival, but Andrew rallied and is still here with us today.

"In 2017, Andrew was diagnosed with Hyper IgM Immunodeficiency which has made his condition harder to treat. Andrew sees numerous specialists as the combination of conditions makes it almost impossible to go to work every day (though he pushes through to our amazement)."

Fredericks experiences debilitating migraines, his family says, and the trips to neurologists and sleep specialists are quickly depleting the family's resources. They say medical bills are now almost $20,000, including hospital stays, surgeries and specialized testing that his insurance has deemed medically unnecessary or untested.

Last August, Fredericks lost partial vision in his right eye, and his ongoing treatment leaves him tired, weak and struggling to work, according to his family.

"While his condition isn’t curable, it is manageable, [and] with the proper treatment Andrew can live a full and fulfilling life, but this will cost money and a continuation of care for the rest of his life," Fredericks' mother and aunt write.

To help Fredericks and his family with their medical bills, click here to donate.

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Image via GoFundMe