Since we arrived here in St. Louis earlier this month, the most common non medical related questions I have been asked, have been in regards to my (and Kristin's family) accomodations during the extended stay. Can you sleep in the room with her? Where is her daughter/mom/sister staying when they come up? Is the hospital in a bad neighborhood? In addition to answering these and other related questions, I want to use this post to explain to everyone our experience with the Open Homes program, to explain why we will be supporting The Bone Marrow & Cancer Foundation & the AirBnB Open Homes Medical Stays program, and to ask you to do the same.

While there is a fold out sofa in her room, I didn't feel like I would be any good to Kristin if I didn't have a decent bed to sleep in, so I have been staying at a no frills hotel a few miles from the hospital. They offered a hospital rate, so it was decent enough for me. However, when her Mother/Daughter/Sister came out to relieve me for a couple days, they stayed in a hotel connected to the hospital which was very convient but pretty pricy. With three more weeks at best still ahead of us, this was going to become increasingly complicated and costly. However, that all changed when I called the great people at the Bone Marrow & Cancer Foundation. I didn't make contact with them for the purposes of housing. They were just on a list of support organizations that the hospital social worker reccommended we make contact with. After telling me about the organization and the services that they will be able to provide for Kristin, they asked me where I was staying during her treatment. I was then encouraged to submit an application for a program called Open Homes Medical Stays. After completing our portion of the application, I turned it over to Kristin's Social Worker/Nurse who filled in the hospitals portion and faxed it off. The next day I recevied an email from the BMCF telling me that we had been approved for the progam. Shortly thereafter, I received an email "Invitation" from AirBnB. There I was able to book a beautiful 1 bedroom apartment just 2 blocks from the hospital at absolutly zero cost to us. The apartment is in a doorman building located above a Whole Foods, it has a gated parking garage, and key carded access to a residents only elevator. Immediately after completing the reservation, I was contacted by the AirBnB host who offered to make the unit availavle at 10 a.m. on the day of check in. It was all so easy, that I was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. I was convinced there had to be a catch as none of it seemed real or realistic. Why in the world would an organization that I had never heard of 2 weeks ago, and have never donated a single penny to, move so fast to make sure our needs were met? It wasn't until I walked into the apartment on Sunday morning that I realized the difference between a room and a retreat, and how much it meant to me to have the latter rather than the former. I could see the relief in Kristin's face when I explained that her Mother, Daughter, & Sister would have a safe place to stay when they come back up to fill in.

So to put it simply: Please do not let this program run out of money!

I set up a Giving Tuesday fundraiser on Facebook for the Bone Marrow & Cancer Foundation. This coming Tuesday, December 3rd  Facebook will be matching donations. We would ask you to consider making a donation to an organization that is making a difference in the lives of both the patient and their family. In addition, you can donate directly to the AirBnB Open Homes program in a variety of ways. This program is not just available through the Bone Marrow BMCF. AirBnB partners with nearly a dozen other support organizations to provide temoprary housing for extended medical stays, natural disasters, and refugee settlement. Visit https://www.airbnb.com/openhomes/donations to learn how you can help those in need of this program.