Lymphoma Patient Finds New Hope

August 12, 2021

Lymphoma patient waiting to get on a Southwest flight

Lymphoma Countdown

Kathy lives near Jacksonville, Florida. Her hometown isn’t too far from the famed Kennedy Space Center, where rockets would lift off into the final frontier. However, Kathy faces a countdown of her own – and it’s not a positive one. She has a rare form of Lymphoma. Kathy described the problem further: “Doctors, and even the specialists, are uncertain how it will respond to possible treatments.”

From Low Odds...

The doctors in Jacksonville told Kathy that remission was not possible. All they could do was slow the cancer down. “Some kinds of chemo help,” said Kathy, “but my body does not tolerate them.” Her best option for treatment was at Stanford Health’s Comprehensive Cancer Center. “Stanford has instruments to measure and test the blood levels and more,” said Kathy, “that nobody else in the country has.”

However, Stanford is in San Jose, California. It’s more than 2,300 miles away from Kathy’s home in Jacksonville. Medical costs were rocketing. Local hospitals were unable to fully help. The odds of Kathy surviving – let alone thriving – were dangerously low.

...To High Hopes

When hope is running out, help can come from above. In this case, that help arrived in the form of a nonprofit paired with an airline. The nonprofit: Mercy Medical Angels. The airline: Southwest. Working together with Southwest, Mercy Medical Angels arranged a free round-trip flight to Stanford.

Kathy said, “Thanks to Mercy Medical Angels and Southwest, I was able to fly across the country to see a world-renowned specialist for my very rare lymphoma.” She adds, “If I had not gone, I would not have an accurate assessment of my condition which dictates best course of treatment.”

“To be afforded the opportunity to go out to Stanford is a great benefit to me!”

"Easy, Grateful, Hope"

Kathy is now back home and doing much better. Her quality of life is improving, and she has more time to spend with her loved ones. When she is asked to describe her experience with Mercy Medical Angels and Southwest in one word, she comes up with three: “Easy, grateful, and hope.” She goes on to describe, “They made it easy. I am grateful. And because of them essentially allowing my visit to take place, I have hope for a longer future.”

If someone asked Kathy why they should donate to Mercy Medical Angels, her answer soars from the heart: “You simply cannot know the rippling effects of your gift. This service is utilized for better health outcomes of one person, but those outcomes greatly effect that person’s family members, friends and neighbors. That one person can mean a lot to a lot of people.”

“Thank you, Mercy Medical Angels and Southwest!”