A mother of two young children was killed in a car crash days before her husband was due to receive a life-saving bone marrow transplant.
Eileen Petters, 31, died in hospital on April 7 following a head-on collision. Her daughter Autumn, two, and six-month-old son Marley were in the back seat of the car and suffered minor injuries. The driver of the van, Perry Sutherland, was released from hospital the following day.
Mrs Petters' husband Ryan had been diagnosed with leukaemia for the second time in February and was due to receive a bone marrow transplant on April 19 at Hollings Cancer Center in Charleston, South Carolina.
Mr Petters was first diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia last year while his wife was pregnant with their second child.
He beat the disease after being treated with intense chemotherapy at the Medical University of South Carolina, four hours from his home in Belton.
Although he had been given the all clear, the cancer returned in February - and the father-of-two's best hope of beating the disease again was with a bone marrow transplant
Mr Petters, who is originally from Harrison Township in New Jersey but moved to South Carolina with his wife, still has only a 50 per cent chance of survival.
After several setbacks, including a donor who backed out of the transplant, a match was found last month and the operation scheduled for April 19
The surgery has now been postponed until May 2.
Following the surgery, Mr Petters must be kept in isolation for three months to lower the risk of infection on his weakened immune system and will be unable to see his children.
Mr Petters' sister-in-law Kim told Nj.com: 'It?s been a nightmare. Every time we thought nothing could get worse, it had. Yesterday we found out Marley is going to need surgery for his kidneys.'
The Petters family have struggled under the financial burden and various fundraisers have been organised to help them pay for mounting medical bills after Medicaid refused to pay for the bone marrow transplant for the grieving father.
Kim Petters, who is caring for Marley and Autumn, added: 'When he gets out, we have faith he will make it. We cannot lose him because his kids need him.'