So many of Steve Rutledge's friends and colleagues have asked about his welfare and how they could help, we have established this website to give everyone some basic information.


In November 2007, Steve worked a full day at Fidelity before going for a blood test which landed him in the emergency room. He was diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML), Type II, and has been in the hospital ever since. After months of misdiagnosis of his fatigue and high fevers, it was almost a relief to know what he had. The immediate treatment was a round of chemotherapy. When that treatment failed to achieve remission, Steve was told that his only hope was a bone marrow transplant and he was then transferred to Baylor University Medical Center's Transplant Hospital in Dallas, Texas.

Since arriving at the transplant center, Steve received another course of chemotherapy, 40 times stronger than the original round, to try to control the disease while a search began for a matching marrow donor. Unfortunately, his only full sibling did not prove to be a match. There is an ongoing search, with four possible donors in the National Bone Marrow Bank who must be investigated further. First they must be located and their continued willingness to donate confirmed. Then they must undergo a thorough health check and have a blood draw which will be re-tested to verify the original results and further necessary matching antigens. If all goes well, the eventual donor will take growth hormone for five days, then give a blood donation to effectuate the transplant. If there is no domestic match, the search will go international, increasing time and costs. Steve was told he has an unusual tissue type.

Due to the time required for the donor search, Steve's doctor thinks they will have to give him still another round of chemotherapy and radiate the bones to buy time. Once the transplant is done, he will need to receive 24 hour care in as sterile an environment as possible for the first months. Since he will be taking immuno-suppressive drugs to prevent rejection of his new immune system, he will be very tired for quite some time. It is unlikely that he could go back to work for at least a year, if not more.

Steve's attitude is very positive and he is ready to fight this horrible disease, whatever it takes. He is a lesson in courage. His new doctor has given us hope.

Steve is surrounded by people who care very much about him: his family, his colleagues from work and his old friends from school. He worked for Fidelity Investments from the time he left the university, about 16 years. In 2006, he worked a year for Sprint. He met his wife Lisa Lea at University Baptist Church in Forth Worth where they both sang in the choir as teenagers. They both attended Baylor University. They have two young children, Alexa and Andrew. Lisa teaches Junior High school students in Arlington, Texas, where they have lived for 14 years. The Rutledges are members of New World United Methodist Church of Arlington.