I only know one family personally who is fighting Leukemia. They have a sweet little 4 year old boy that they lovingly refer to as "Superman" because of how heroic he is with his battle against cancer. Yesterday their worst fears came true - Austin has relapsed. His Leukemia is back. He needs a bone marrow transplant to make him better.
I have been having a very difficult time since learning about this yesterday afternoon. This family is the only family I personally know who is fighting Leukemia like Channing. It hits too close to home and all the fears and anxieties from diagnosis are flooding back. I can only imagine a small piece of what this family is enduring right now. I am coming to understand just how helpless people around me must have felt when Channing was diagnosed with Leukemia just last year. The only thing I can think of doing to help this family is by helping them find a match.
Please consider joining www.bethematch.org. Please also share this link. We need more people willing to be donors. It costs NOTHING if you are between the ages of 18-44. It's easy - you review the info on the page and make sure you fit the medical criteria, then you submit your info. A kit will be sent to you to swab your cheeks with a q-tip and then if there is ever a match they will contact you to do further testing. Look through the website to see if this is something you can do to help.
I know that it is a scary thing to think of the possibility of having to get bone marrow removed. My 5 year old son has had a bone marrow biopsy at least 3 times, and he gets needles inserted into his spine every 4 months - and he hasn't complained once about pain in his back. If Channing can do this to save his own life, we can do it to save someone else's.
This is so heartbreaking! I have a friend from Junior High whose little one is fighting leukemia! It just doesn't seem fair!
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