Give the gift of life

Sweet Baby Rachel was born on September 26, 1996, to parents Bobby and Cecilia Gean. On May 5, 1997, at age 7 months, Rachel was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Bobby and Cecilia were living in Florida when they learned the horrifying news about their new baby. They were flown to Dallas in order for Rachel to be seen by doctors at Children's Medical Center.

Because of the seriousness of Rachel's condition, she needs a Bone Marrow Transplant in order to live. For the Bone Marrow Transplant to work, Rachel needs to have a Bone Marrow Donor who is a "match". For most leukemia patients, the best chances for a match come from a brother or sister. Rachel is an only child.

Because Rachel is half-Hispanic and half-Caucasian, finding a match will be very difficult. The most likely candidate will be someone who is Hispanic. Unfortunately, there are very few Hispanics on the National Bone Marrow Donor Registry. Rachel is currently undergoing chemotherapy treatments at Children's Medical Center in Dallas, while a Bone Marrow Donor is desperately sought.

Michelle is 15 years old. At age 12, Michelle discovered that she had leukemia. She went through two years of chemotherapy, after which she was told that she was in remission. Her parents, John and Kim, founded the North Texas Chapter of the Candlelighters, a support group for pediatric cancer patients and their families. For the past two years, John and Kim have been providing support and encouragement to many others who have gone down the same road. Michelle is a "survivor", so she too has been a source of hope and strength to other kids dealing with the cancer monster in their lives.

A few days ago, Michelle relapsed. Her blood tests showed that the leukemia has come back. Now she has to start all over again, fighting the same monster she thought she had beaten two years ago. Here come the harsh chemotherapy treatments again. Losing your hair at 15 is a whole lot worse than losing your hair at 12. Michelle may even have to have a Bone Marrow Transplant.

My brother Wes is much more fortunate than Baby Rachel and Michelle, at least for now. We learned just a couple of months ago that he has a form of leukemia called CLL (Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia). Apparently, this is a very slow-progressing form of the deadly disease, and sometimes people can go for years and years with CLL before they ever need any kind of treatments. We are certainly hoping and praying that Wes' cancer will leave him alone for a very long time, and allow him to enjoy many years of happiness with his wife Pam and their two beautiful children. But the time may come for Wes when he has to start looking at the possibility of a Bone Marrow Transplant as well.

Bone marrow is the spongy stuff on the inside of your bones. It is where your blood gets the stuff that it needs to do its job. Stem cells in the bone marrow produce white blood cells (which help your body fight infection), red blood cells (which carry oxygen to your body's cells), and platelets (which help your blood to clot, so that you don't bleed to death every time you cut yourself shaving). When your bone marrow messes up and doesn't produce all of these cells in just the right way, you end up with leukemia. (I realize this is a very simplistic explanation of a very complex disease, but hey, that's just the way my mind works.)

Sometimes chemotherapy kills all the bad blood cells which have been produced by the malfunctioning marrow, and knocks the marrow back in line so that it starts working properly again. Sometimes it doesn't, and a Bone Marrow Transplant has to be done in order to replace the bad bone marrow with new, properly-functioning bone marrow. Sometimes that works, and sometimes it doesn't. But for many leukemia patients, a Bone Marrow Transplant is their last hope for life.

Earlier this week, I called 1-800-MARROW-2 to find out how I can become a Bone Marrow Donor. As you read this article, information is on its way to my mailbox from the National Marrow Donor Program, hopefully with answers to all my questions.

This is my call to arms. Will you join me in at least exploring the possibility of becoming a Bone Marrow Donor? Wouldn't it be neat to go through life knowing that you were given the opportunity to help save another person's life! Maybe it will be Baby Rachel. Maybe Michelle. Maybe your own brother or sister, or even my brother Wes. I don't know who it will be, but there may be someone out there who needs to borrow some of your bone marrow so that they can grow up and enjoy life, or finish high school and go to college, or play with their kids for a little bit longer. Please help. Become a Bone Marrow Donor and give the gift of life!

Paul O'Rear is just an ordinary guy who lives in Waxahachie, has a daughter with cancer, a brother with leukemia, and some extra bone marrow to share with someone who needs it. He may be contacted via e-mail at paul@orear.com.