Caregiver

In 2017, after 44 years of working in the railroad industry, Paul Sauter was just starting to enjoy his retirement when his health started to decline out of nowhere. Typically, he was in extremely good shape and enjoyed long hikes with his wife, Lynn. One day, while on a mountain climb trip in Arizona, Lynn was concerned when she noticed Paul was not his usual athletic self.

Being in a very close-knit family, we were devastated upon learning of our sister Madeline’s diagnosis of AML.  There were 4 of us girls and all 3 of us wanted to do anything to help our sister survive.  Our biggest challenge was staying positive and offering her and her family support. The 3 of us were tested and I was her perfect match.

My husband is my rock. He’s been by my side through chemo, immunotherapy, stem cell transplant, years of not feeling well, not eating, losing my hair twice, and at all other times.

Graysen was born in March 2017. She was born the day before my birthday and we often say that she was the greatest birthday present ever. She was such an easy-going baby - happy, curious, and sweet with a magnetic personality. She was seemingly healthy, happy and 21 months old when we shockingly learned she had leukemia in November 2018.

On October 9, 2017, 8-year-old Julian suddenly became ill with a fever and headache. We gave him some over the counter medicine and made an appointment with his pediatrician. By the time he was in the doctor’s office the next morning, Julian had worsened and his doctor immediately ordered labs.