For those of you who don’t know, my boyfriend Jae De Leon was recently diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia on July 26th, 2021. This past year, Jae had been experiencing shortness of breath and lightheadedness on and off. His family, friends and I were shocked and saddened to hear about the news. Due to the Delta Variant on the rise, visiting hours are restricted and we are not always able to be physically present with Jae during this difficult time.

I met Jae in 2016 when we were physics partners back in community college. Jae is currently a grad student at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo State University where he is studying biomedical engineering and finishing up his Master’s thesis. During his time there, he has helped people in numerous QL+ (Quality of Life) projects, including designing and making prosthetic hands and legs for people with disabilities. In his free time, he likes to hike, watch anime/tv, play videogames, surf, exercise, be a foodie, drink, do DIY projects, listen to music, explore new places, and spend time with his loved ones. Even if you don’t know Jae personally, his friends, family, dogs and I can attest that he is an incredibly kind, funny, understanding, intelligent, patient, loyal, trustworthy, hardworking, caring and loving person who deserves the best in life!

Jae finished his chemotherapy on August 6th and is currently in recovery. While the doctors and nurses do their job to take care of him in isolation, we are focusing on healing Jae right now and doing our best to keep his spirits up virtually, whether it’s delivering stuff to the hospital or sending him virtual messages to show our love and support. He works so hard to help others as well as make time to be there for his family, friends and I. Now it’s our turn to help Jae!

You can show your support to Jae or solidarity with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society by donating blood, platelets, or plasma at your nearest American Red Cross Center anytime during the next 3 months. Even if Jae does not directly receive your blood, you will still be able to help someone else in need. My hope is that you continue to donate after these three months. Just one blood donation can save up to 3 lives. Don’t underestimate the difference you can make! You are truly helping someone out more than you’ll ever know.

Thank you to those who have shown your love and support with prayers, kind words, care packages, video messages and visits. You have no idea how grateful we are. We love you Jae! We are your family. Know that we are here for you for whatever you need, and we are going to be with you every step of the process cheering you on in your journey! Stay strong because we know you are and you got this. 🙂

If you have any questions on how you would like to support Jae, you can email me at [email protected] or message me on Facebook.