I need you to know my brother Leo Sousie, the most hardworking auto mechanic in Troy, NY. Leo prides himself in offering affordable auto mechanic services to his local working class neighborhood. Since my brother was out of diapers he was in a garage. It’s in his blood to be working in a garage. Our father was a mechanic and showed my brother what could be a family trade. He works 9-5 for a local garage and then nights and weekends in his own garage. All Leo wanted to do was be in the garage and he made a career doing just that.
This year Leo was diagnosed with Small Cell Lung Cancer, a rare aggressive cancer that required immediate treatment in order to stop its spread. This diagnosis has devastated his life more than we could have anticipated.
A bit of information about Small Cell Lung Cancer, it is staged differently than other cancers. The terms Limited and Extensive describe whether the cancer is either localized or spread outside a single lung. In most cases of small cell lung cancer, when you become symptomatic it is already Extensive, but not in my brothers case. Leo was lucky a routine scan found the 5mm masses on his lungs. With a biopsy and additional scans his diagnosis is Limited, Small Cell Lung Cancer. We have a great chance fighting this, he can fight this, but it will be a long and exhausting battle.
Leo has nearly completed his initial radiation and chemotherapy treatments but he suffered a dangerous, potentially life-threatening complication. This required a hospital stay over Memorial Day weekend and an emergency surgery. In order to ease the administration of Chemotherapy and radiation it was recommended to implant a Power Port under the skin in his upper chest/neck. What was suppose to be helpful device in his treatment had become a terrifying nightmare. The Power Port became infected and his immune system, weakened by his treatments, went into sepsis. Rushed to the ER it was confirmed to be a blood infection caused by the Power Port. The Power Port was removed and replaced with a Picc Line. This required a week stay in the hospital and currently an ongoing prescription of strong antibiotics.
Throughout this frightening turn of events, Leo has remained steadfast in his fight to a diagnosis of remission. We have made this fundraiser to assist Leo in the sudden financial shifts related to his medical treatments.
We see this fundraiser helping Leo in these major areas:
Like many cancer survivors Leo has missed and will continue to miss work while traveling and receiving treatment, sometimes for the entire work week. Unfortunately in his career he does not receive paid sick time, so having to miss even one day of work can put him behind and we’re hoping to recover his lost income that ranged from 15 to 26 hours a week throughout this treatment.
His labor-intensive job as an auto mechanic is not going to get easier as a cancer survivor. The work place is known to be dirty and at times, fast paced. While Leo wouldn’t rather be anywhere but a car bay, he will have to be ready to adapt as his cancer journey unfolds.
Your contributions to our fundraiser will support Leo’s battle with cancer. Any amount you contribute will help him focus on his health and recovery and less on the financial burdens a cancer diagnoses adds to ones life.
