My Nonprofit Reviews

I'm a 25 year old Iraq/Afghanistan veteran and was diagnosed with Acute Leukemia in May of 09 while in Afghanistan. I was medevaced to Germany where I was given a 5% chance to live and put into a medically induced coma for 3 weeks immediatly after arriving. I pulled through and stayed in Germany for 3 months in the ICU and eventually went into remission and was flown back to the states. I started chemo while in the states and in March of 2010 I relapsed and they realized that the chemo wasn't working anymore and they found leukemic cells in my brain/spine. So I underwent chemo through an implanted port in my brain and then I was told I needed a bone marrow transplant. My brother was a full match, so I was lucky I could go ahead and start the transplant soon. They put me through full body, testicular, and brain radiation, then 5 days of high dac chemo. Then I got the bone marrow transplant. All the radiation, chemo, transplant, time spent lying in a hospital bed, being on steriods and other pills that I'm taking, destroyed my body. I need a cane to walk and when I stand up, I almost pass out everytime. It's hard for me to pick up my laptop or walk short distances without being utterly exhausted. So when it came time for me to move back home my social worker put me in touch with Veteran's Airlift Command. I talked with the coordinator Lisa Young who just asked me what date I needed to be back and she was able to find a pilot and private plane to take me from Washington to Illinois. The program is incredible, they find volunteer pilots and people volunteer their own planes to help fly veterans. They were even willing to buy me a commercial ticket if they couldn't find me a pilot/plane! The whole process was completely smooth and amazing. The pilot and co-pilot were great and they even had packed me a lunch and gift basket of goodies for the ride. I can't even begin to express my gratitude for everything that the Veteran's Airlift Command did for me. Adam Barton OIF/OEF

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