My sister is part of a book club that is similar to my Bible study.  That is, it’s a group of women who care for one another, lean on each other, learn from each other, all with Jesus as the common uniting factor.

Now one of Hayley’s group needs help and the rest of the women are rallying around her.

You see, Kami’s husband is sick.  At age nine he was diagnosed with lymphangiomatosis and recently his symptoms have worsened.  Following are his words (which I cut and copied from my sister’s blog):

“My name is Ryan Eichelberger, and I am 23 years old. My wife, Kami, and I have two daughters; Shylee is 18 months old and Ember is 6 months old.

“When I was 9 years old, I was diagnosed with a rare disease called Lymphangiomatosis. I was told that I could live with it for the rest of my life without side effects from the disease, or it could move to my lungs and liver and become fatal. Thankfully, I didn’t experience any complications as a kid. Then in December of 2007, I sat up in bed and heard a sound like glass shattering inside my head. My neck had broken, and I was rushed to emergency surgery to repair the damaged vertebrae. The doctors found that the disease had completely eaten away at a few of the vertebrae in my neck, and there was fluid around my lungs. Ever since then, my doctor here in Wichita (Thomas Schulz at the Cancer Center of Kansas) has been regularly monitoring the fluid level. Up until recently, I’ve been doing pretty well.

“Over the past few months, however, my condition has been getting worse. There is a lot of fluid around my lungs now, which makes it difficult to breathe. I struggle to catch my breath after completing really simple tasks around the house, such as taking out the trash or lifting Emmy out of her crib. I’ve been experiencing a lot of nausea and vomiting; and loss of appetite has caused me to drop 15 pounds over the last six weeks. I had to quit my job about two weeks ago due to the increasing severity of these side effects.

“My doctors discovered fluid around my heart, which must be closely monitored as it can cause significant, potentially life-threatening damage. On February 8, Kami and I flew to visit Dr. Denise Adams at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. We were told that the disease has advanced and has affected the structure of several of my ribs and vertebrae. There aren’t a lot of options due to the rarity of my condition, but Dr. Adams suggested that we take part in a clinical trial at the hospital in Cincinnati. The drug they put me on is called Rapamune (also called Rapamycin or Sirolimus). Other patients have had good results from this drug, so Dr. Adams is optimistic that the drug will help remove some of the excess fluid from my lungs and heart.

“The great part about the study is that the medication will be provided to me at no charge, which is great since we don’t have health insurance. (We are in the process of applying for Medicaid through the state.) The only downside of being a part of this study, is that we are required to travel back and forth to Cincinnati six times over the next year, once a month for the first three months, then once every three months after that. The Hope Lodge in Cincinnati will provide a place to stay and transportation to our appointments when we are in Cincinnati. We are just hoping to raise some money to help us cover the cost of flying back and forth to Cincinnati over the 12 months of the clinical trial.”

Hayley and her friends are raising money to help them with travel expenses.  You can make a tax-deductible donation or you can attend a benefit concert on March 12th (details on Hayley’s blog).  Or both.  But most importantly please petition God on their behalf.