VFW Post 5699 in Ocean Springs hosted ‘Hope for Harper’ blood drive

Harper Andrew is a little girl, but she is fighting a big battle. The three-year-old is battling leukemia.

In hopes of lightening the load, the VFW Post in Ocean Springs hosted a blood drive and a silent auction for Harper and her family.

While last year was a tough year for many, it was especially hard for Harper Andrew, a three-year-old who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. VFW Post 5699 Commander Lela Bremen saw the post about Harper and knew she had to help so she reached out to Harper’s mother, Kaitlyn. “I asked, how can we do this? How can we set up a blood drive? I connected with the blood drive the next day and we set this up.”

Community members rolled up their sleeves, ready to give blood for Harper and others fighting this form of cancer.  When Harper’s parents, Kaitlyn and Stephen, found out about the cancer, Kaitlyn had to leave her job to take care of Harper and her baby brother full time, leaving only Stephen working.

The VFW decided to add in a silent auction to help the family with expenses. “We just decided to do the silent auction in addition to help the family try to raise some money to give them to help out with the bills and expenses.”

“We are just thankful for everything the community has done and people that reach out and send kind words of encouragement.”

Harper still has another year-and-a-half of treatments left, but her treatments have been decreasing. “Most weeks, she was going one to four times a week and just now this past month, we have been able to go down to just one time a month.”

Harper’s mother says it never gets easier, but you just have to take it day by day. “It’s difficult. It’s a very lonely feeling. It’s hard to be positive in the situation.”

Harper has a Facebook page called ‘Hope for Harper.’ The silent auction will continue on the Facebook page. You can donate, buy a Hope for Harper t-shirt, and cheer on Harper as she fights her battle.