HELP NEEDED FOR DAVID AND LAURA UECKER TO BEAT LEUKEMIA!
Laura and I are extremely grateful for the leave donations that I have received to date from friends at
the VA, and from other Federal employees. The unfortunate thing is that I need about two more
months of donated leave time in order to keep my job and be able to stay with Laura. Laura was
diagnosed with a particularly aggressive form of acute myeloid leukemia with a 20% survival rate with
treatment. She has made it through four rounds of chemotherapy, six doses of total body radiation, and
her stem cell transplant from an anonymous donor. Laura received her stem cell transplant on 8/9/13.
During the first 100 days we must remain close to Tulane Hospital in New Orleans and are staying at the
Hope Lodge which is run by the American Cancer Society. Laura currently takes 14 different medications
to prevent her body from rejecting the transplant and compensate for the fact she has no immune
system and is in ongoing pain from the anti-rejection medication. She continues to need blood because
her body is not making sufficient quantities yet. Laura is living in a bubble as she recovers that includes
our room at the Hope Lodge, our car, and a private room when we go to clinic 2-3 times a week.
My role currently is to take care of Laura and to push the odds in her favor as much as possible. Laura
will tell you more about why she needs me here.
God has blessed me with an amazing spouse, and our marriage has become even stronger through this
leukemia journey. Dave has been my rock ever since I was diagnosed April 8 of this year. He is my
companion, my caregiver, my comic relief, my partner. His presence has helped me through the painful
parts of this journey. His encouragement has helped me keep a positive attitude. I wouldn’t be doing as
well as I am without him. In order to live at the Hope Lodge, you are required to have a 24-hour
caregiver. Dave shops for food, prepares food for me, takes me to all of my clinic visits, organizes my
huge pill box, takes me for outings in the car to the park (who says a picnic inside a car can’t be
romantic?), and brings me Communion. Also, the doctor requires that my room be cleaned from top to
bottom every other day so that my weakened immune system is not in the presence of germs or dust.
Dave takes care of this for me. I am in the home stretch and need him as my caregiver for 50-70 more
days, depending on how I recover post-transplant. I am at day 32 (9/11/13) now, which puts me about
1/3 of the way there!
Any Federal employee can donate leave by going to their Human Resources Department and filling out a
Leave Donation Form. Please let me know if you donate leave so I can confirm that it makes it to HR at
the Biloxi VA. My contact information and information for donation are below.
Biloxi VA HR contact:
Donna Jenkins – phone: 228-523-5623; fax: 228-523-4943; Email: donnajenkins@va.gov
Dave’s info:
David L. Uecker, LCSW, ACSW
Community Residential Care Program Coordinator
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System
Department of Social Work (122)
400 Veterans Avenue
Biloxi, MS 39531
VISN 16 – Station 520
To reach Dave: davepelicaniam@gmail.com or 601-832-4213.
THANK YOU!