Midcoast communities are pulling together to support a Phippsburg family after their son was diagnosed with life-threatening cancer at the beginning of August.

Thomas Totman, 15, was diagnosed with anaplastic large cell lymphoma earlier this month after experiencing unexplained pains, struggling to keep food down and losing about 20 pounds.

Tracy Koehling, a relative, organized a GoFundMe page for Thomas on the first Monday of August. It has a $20,000 goal and, as of Thursday afternoon, had raised more than $13,700 to help the family cover travel, food and medical expenses that their insurance may not cover.

The funds also help ensure the Totmans can cover bills, as Thomas’ mother is out of work to focus on taking care of her son, while Thomas’ father works at Bath Iron Works, traveling to the hospital after his shifts end to be with his son, Koehling said.

“I wanted to make sure that they weren’t worried about money coming in at that time and they could concentrate on being there for Thomas in this time of need,” Koehling said. “I would do this for anybody because our kids need to come first, and unfortunately, in this day and age, you need two people in the home just to make a living and survive.”

After being hospitalized, Thomas was diagnosed with pneumonia and had to get a breathing tube placed.

Last week, Thomas began receiving chemotherapy but had to return to the intensive care unit shortly afterward because his lungs hadn’t recovered from pneumonia and his immune system has been weakened by the chemotherapy. For now, Thomas will remain at Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital for at least a month and will later continue his chemotherapy treatment in Scarborough.

Before the cancer diagnosis, Thomas was away at robotics camp and was about to begin his sophomore year at Morse High School. He had been taking college-level courses since junior high school. Thomas has continued his education while in the hospital, taking algebra courses when he has the energy for it, Koehling said.

“Thomas is a very smart boy; he thrives on education,” Koehling said.

More recently, Thomas was working on a LEGO kit someone brought in for him to keep his mind busy.

“Our priority right now is getting him healthy and making sure him and his family are in everybody’s thoughts,” said Andrew Pelletier, Morse High School athletic director.

During his freshman year of high school, Thomas played football, basketball and lacrosse at Morse. Pelletier described Thomas as a quiet leader of the teams he played on, and his opportunity to have an impact will only grow as he does.

There are other fundraising efforts for the Totman family in the works. In Phippsburg, a jar for donations is on the counter of the checkout at the Bisson’s Center Store. Koehling’s daughter, who works at Bisson’s, will be holding a bake sale on Sept. 9 with all the proceeds going to the Totmans. Longreach Kitchen and Catering in Bath will donate 10% of its sales between 4 and 10 p.m. on Aug. 14 to the Totman family. Koehling has also been working with BIW to plan a gate fundraiser to collect donations from employees.

Another fundraiser has been going on through Mail It 4U in Bath, selling $10 shirts for “Team Thomas,” with every sale will go back to the Totman family. Anyone who purchases those shirts will be wearing them at the season-opening football game at 7 p.m. on Sept. 5 at McMann Field in Bath.

“This Morse community, they rally to help one another, and this is just another great example of this community showing who they are,” Pelletier said.