Carter Mullett suffers from an exceedingly rare genetic disease known as DOCK8, which cripples his immune system’s ability to fight infection, severely inhibiting his ability to live a normal life. We are asking for help to keep Carter and his wife from incurring large medical debt during his treatment and recovery time from a bone marrow transplant.
Those of you who know our family know that his older brother, Jack, suffered from the same condition and required an emergency, experimental bone-marrow transplant after developing a life-threatening kidney disease related to DOCK-8 disorder. The doctors and researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland, who are specialists in DOCK-8 and similar disorders, performed this treatment and saved Jack’s life.
This same team determined that Carter must undergo the same treatment before he suffers a similar or worse fate. A treatment like this is taxing and carries substantial risk, but without transplant the prognosis for DOCK-8 patients is grim, with most patients not living beyond 30 years of age. Carter is now 26. With transplant, there is good reason to hope that Carter can be free from DOCK-8 and live a long, happy, and productive life.
In order to save Carter’s life, the NIH will perform this transplant in early August. The treatment regimen includes an aggressive round of chemotherapy to condition his body to receive a new immune system. Within 12 months, doctors are optimistic that he will be mostly able to return to normal life, but full recovery takes 2 years. He will spend approximately 4 months of his recovery at the NIH, after which he will be transferred to outpatient care under the same team that treated his brother. Carter could not be in better hands.
To undergo this lifesaving treatment, Carter will be unable to work for an extended period, up to 7-9 months. His wife, Nao, will take an unpaid 2 month leave of absence to be his initial caretaker, after which she must return home to work. This means he and Nao will be at a significantly reduced income for the duration of his treatment and recovery.
We are humbly asking for financial assistance to cover misc. medical expenses, living expenses, transportation, care costs and loss of income to ensure Carter gets the treatment he desperately needs without incurring significant debt. Because his treatment is experimental and part of an ongoing study, the direct costs of transplant will be covered by the NIH in exchange for the valuable data gained in the process. For this we are grateful beyond description. However, he will incur significant costs upon being discharged to outpatient care and requires financial assistance beyond what our small family can provide.
We will update this fundraiser page – along with a CaringBridge regularly to keep you all updated on Carter’s treatment and recovery. Any support you can provide is deeply appreciated and goes a long way toward giving him the long, healthy life of which DOCK-8 would deprive him. We feel beyond grateful to have so many wonderful friends, family and even strangers on our team to support Carter in this challenging time. Please send us your words of support and encouragement. We will be sure to share them with Carter to lift his spirits as he undergoes this difficult, lifesaving treatment.
