Eleven years ago Ronn and Kelli were put in a tough situation when Ronn was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Unfortunately, the young couple was dealt a more devastating blow when a doctor ordered a chest X-ray, which revealed a mass in Ronn’s chest. The diagnosis was Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Ronn received treatment for the lymphoma in Nacogdoches, TX and went into remission. Ronn and Kelli even gave birth to their first son, Lukas, eight years later after being told this wouldn’t be possible. Three years after Lukas’ birth Ronn’s cancer began to take a turn for the worse.
Ronn had the option of a stem cell transplant at M.D. Anderson, which was a tough decision to make. He had been unable to work due to neuropathy from another type of chemotherapy they completed locally. The family decided to travel back and forth between Houston and Nacogdoches for treatment to prepare for a stem cell transplant. They stayed in hotels while Ronn received treatment at M.D. Anderson, but the cost was adding up. The three of them staying in hotels five different times at four to six nights each time came to a sum of over $3,000.
Ronn and Kelli applied to Halo House and got on the waiting list. After a couple of months of waiting and not knowing where they would be staying during the stem cell transplant, Kelli called to see if they were close to being accepted, but it didn’t look promising.
A week later Kelli received a call from Halo House saying an apartment was available. Kelli called it, “the most perfect exact timing” and that “God just intervened on our behalf.”
The stay at Halo House was very accommodating and personalized for the family as they got to meet and become close with Halo House’s volunteers. Ronn and the family are now back in Nacogdoches “ecstatic to be home and back at our home church.”