Editor:

My oldest daughter, Kristine Bell-Ellis, was diagnosed with leukemia in October. She is very ill. I’ve lost several friends in the last couple of years to cancer, but this is hittimg me hard. No one is ever prepared for such a monstrous thing. The doctor has actually told her how long she can expect to survive … not in years, but in months; news that chills a parent’s heart to its very core.

This brand of leukemia can be cured, but it is “terminal” until chemotherapy and bone marrow transplants are performed. Kris, 42, has already had two runs of chemo. The last one almost took her. Her heartbeat was reduced to 33 beats per minute.

Anyone who knows her will be quick to say that she laughs easily, is quick to please and is generous to a fault.

Her husband, Mike, is one of the hardest workers I know. Right now he has to make runs to Denver from Grand Junction, Colo., to visit Kris on the weekends, then run back to go to work. It is not only fatiguing, it is expensive.

These financial pressures are more than familiar to those who have struggled with a catastrophic illness. They can press on you like a vice being twisted by bill collectors who have little compassion for your situation.

Accounts have been opened for Mike and Kris at Community Bank. If you feel led, any donations would be greatly appreciated. Or you may contact Ronda Jordan at 432-6069 or 398-0487.

Al Bell

Joseph