My name is Caden Teicher. I am 18 years old and a Senior at Berkley High School. My plan is to take classes at occ and continue my education at a university studying computer science. I’ve been interested in computers most of my life and I have taken computer networking classes at OSTC, a technical school.

In school I’ve also played some sports. I’ve been a swimmer for most of my life starting when I was 8 years old and I’ve been on a swim team every year since. I also love doing other outdoor activities like skiing and hiking. When I was younger my family and I would go camping and hiking a lot. Once I am done with this procedure. I’m looking forward to being able to do that again.

The reason I need a bone marrow transplant is because I have a genetic disease that I share with my brother called Chronic Granulomatous Disease (CGD). It causes me to have a weakened immune system which affects my daily life. I need to be careful doing normal outdoor activities like being around dry leaves and going into large stale bodies of water because of the associated fungal and bacterial risks. This procedure will help me to have a normal life without any restrictions or worry of infection.

I’ve also recently been having more serious problems with my health as related to CDG. I have developed blood clots in my legs that almost completely restrict my movement for many days. As a result, I inject myself daily with anticoagulants to keep myself from developing more. I also have been affected by a bacteria called Burkholderia Cepacia in my neck that required surgery and many days in the hospital. Because of this I have decided to go to the NIH for my transplant. They have some of the best doctors in the world and have done the most successful transplants for CGD.

I’m asking for donations to COTA in my honor to assist with transplant-related expenses including travel and living expenses. This will help relieve some of the financial burden on me and my family. I will need to fly my father and my support team to Bethesda, Maryland and live there for about 4-6 months. These donations will also help with follow up appointments after the transplant that will last up to 5 years after.

I appreciate your donations and all of my friends and family that have helped me throughout this journey.