
Ever since his nephew Landon was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, Chris March, public safety officer and student at Central Oregon Community College, has not gotten much sleep.
āI try to get up there every weekend,ā March said, āI donāt sleep very much. I now get about five to six hours [of sleep] a night. Iām the person who thinks of worst case scenarios. Thatās always playing in the back of my mind.ā
At the age of three, Landon will have to undergo 41 months of chemotherapy. For the next three and a half years, he will live with a subcutaneous port– a thin, soft plastic tube that is inserted under a patientās skin in his chest to allow easier infusion of chemotherapy. Landon will also attend countless doctors appointments and the treatment will take an intense physical toll on his body.
āItās hard to see him laying there with tubes in him, not wanting to do anything,ā March said. āA three-year-old should be wanting to get up and move and play.ā
Like many families affected by cancer, Landonās mother had to put her sonās treatment as the primary focus of her life. She moved out of her parentās home in Central Oregon to Portland to be with Landon on a daily basis. Both March and Landonās grandparents make frequent trips to Portland to visit Landon when money allows them to travel. Because his mother is raising him alone, all of Landonās medical bills are covered by the Oregon Health Plan; however, the familyās other expenses must be provided by the family themselves.
To add to the costs of treatment, a family must factor in fuel, food and other expenses the child might need that health insurance does not cover.
Recognizing the rising costs for Landonās family, Hailey Jorgenson of Associated Students of Central Oregon Community College decided to act. Along with Kurt Killinger and other members of the council, Jorgenson developed āTeam Landon,ā a non-profit campaign to help Landonās family. Although it is currently in its conceptual phase, Jorgenson and Killinger have high hopes for the āTeam Landonā campaign.
āBudget powers limit what you can do,ā Jorgenson said. ā[Team Landon] is a community support outreach to let the family know weāre there for them.ā
Recent plans for āTeam Landonā include beanie sales, movie showings on campus with sales going to benefit local cancer research, and toy drives.
āIām proud of her,ā Killinger said in regards to Jorgensonās plans.
According to Jorgenson and Killinger, the success of āTeam Landonā will ultimately depend on the participation of COCC students and members of the community.
ā[Landon is] not the only child suffering this fate,ā Killinger said, āBut this just hit close to home.ā
Students can look for more information on how they can contribute to āTeam Landonā in January, the projected date of the campaignās beginning. For more information regarding how you can help assist the family, contact Hailey Jorgensen at hjorgensen@cocc.edu.
Emily Frances Kalei
The Broadside
efgarcia@cocc.edu