Summary: Dear Johnny, I wanted to write to you about my family. My son, Nolan, is a 5 year old little boy who can light up any room. He has a twin sister and a 14 year old sister as well. Nolan was born with Down syndrome and has been overcoming hurdles since birth. He had open heart surgery at 6 months old, and 2 years ago we found out he will need another at some point. In August, Nolan started limping. He would get better, then limp a few days. Multiple X-rays, doctor visits, and labs were done with no answers. We made the trip to Children's Mercy on September 6th of this year, and received the devastating news no parent wants. Nolan was diagnosed with ALL, or Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. He has had many ups and downs in his short life so far. I have never known a little boy to go through so much and still do it with a smile on his face most days. He loves the simple things in life, going on wagon rides, playing with cars, and being at home with his family are just a few of his favorite things. The reason I am writing is because we have put so many miles on our cars. Our primary van which has 160,000 + miles is now leaking oil and I can’t figure out how to fix it, but I was able to put 4 new tires on it. We are having to drive the 1 hour trip to Children’s Mercy now every 10 days, but in January we will have another 30 day in hospital stay which means that me and my wife will switch on the weekends staying with him while he is in the hospital. After that 30 day stay we will have to start going weekly for visits, then back to treatments every 10 days. This takes a toll on the vehicle. With my wife having to take my son to appointments and therapy, and now chemo, she can’t work. So I am working two jobs just to try and make ends meet with him being in and out of the hospital since September. We are caught up on most of the bills, but I’m worried about our mortgage payment in January. It’s difficult to write this letter and ask for help, but I just wanted you to know Nolan’s story and how strong this little boy is. Thank you for your consideration, Justin Anderson Who Helped: Nick, Tammy, Glen, Benjamin, Ryan, Trevor & Christian Brothers Automotive How You Helped: Paid January mortgage, fixing the van and a rental car.
