Late last month, 90 Day Fiance: The Other Way alum Deavan Clegg revealed her son’s leukemia diagnosis.
Taeyang’s condition was only identified after Deavan repeatedly brought him to doctors until they could diagnose him.
Now, he is undergoing treatment (and not a moment too soon) and is said to have a good prognosis for recovery.
Deavan is raising money to go to her son’s care. She is also explaining to fans what the funds are for.
Less than a week after a GoFundMe for Taeyang’s healthcare was established, Deavan Clegg posted an update on Instagram.
“We are almost to $20,000 raised on gofundme in just 4 days,” she shared.
“The support for Taeyang has really touched us,” Deavan expressed. “Cancer doesn’t stand a chance.”
The GoFundMe, which has now crossed the $20,000 mark, was not created by Deavan.
Her mother, Elicia, created it to support her grandson’s care.
The goal is $50,000, meaning that they are less than halfway to the mark.
As encouraging as Deavan’s update was, some had questions.
“Insurance pays for everything,” claimed one commenter, who asked: “So what is the Go Fund Me for?”
Deavan gently corrected the commenter: “Insurance does not cover everything.”
As many Americans traveling abroad have learned firsthand, most developed countries would charge someone little to nothing for a cancer diagnosis and treatment.
In the United States, even someone lucky enough to have a good insurance plan would still find themselves facing steep bills.
While there are charities entirely devoted to helping cover costs for children’s cancer treatments, the staggering and often artificially inflated numbers on hospital bills are daunting.
In late May, Deavan revealed that Taeyang had been diagnosed with “B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia just a few days ago.”
Deavan specified. “He has already undergone multiple procedures.”
“And,” she continued, Taeyang had “started chemotherapy treatment just two days ago.”
“This is every parents absolute worst nightmare,” Deavan acknowledged in her heartbreaking post.
“And I’m trying hard to stay strong for Taeyang, Drascilla, and my baby in my tummy,” she noted.
As we previously reported, Deavan is pregnant with her third child, by partner Topher Park.
B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia can be fatal if left untreated for months or even for weeks.
Deavan’s trips to the hospital, being sent home with things like iron supplements, continued until she found an answer for her son’s sudden illness.
3-year-old Taeyang’s treatments are not, and will not be, easy, but his road to beating this is laid out before him.
Deavan Clegg was awarded full custody of Taeyang after a two-year, albeit one-sided, custody battle with Jihoon Lee.
Though Jihoon was demonstrably irresponsible and also under investigation for child-abuse, apparently the main reason that Deavan got custody was even simpler:
She was taking care of Taeyang and wished to continue to do so. Jihoon reportedly lost all interest in even communicating with his son, let alone seeking custody.
Fortunately, Taeyang has a strong support system with Deavan’s family, and with Topher.
Deavan even shares that her son “cries for” her boyfriend more than he does for her.
They have been together for nearly two years, which is the majority of Taeyang’s young life. We wish this family the best as they grapple with Taeyang’s health crisis.
