“The repercussions for maintaining the values of those who sent me here have been great.”
A Vote of Principle
reaD More on Page 11 by lora reinbolD
Kelly’s Story
The “Be the Match” Bone Marrow Drive will be held in Palmer on April 25th at the Koslosky’s Center during Who Let The Girls Out [10:00 am]
Become a Bone Marrow Donor - You Could Save a Life! Contributed by Kelly Marre
My name is Kelly Marre. i am a wife, mother, grandmother, community volunteer, and a Probation officer for the State of Alaska. i also have a rare form of Acute Myelogenous Leukemia and am in desperate need of a bone marrow match. of all the millions of people on the national registry, not a single one matches me. this is eerily familiar because in 1998, we had the same problem when our oldest son, Logan, needed a bone marrow match. Logan was a healthy 9-year-old boy who loved to play basketball and baseball. one day we noticed he was really out of breath and not playing his best in his basketball game. A couple days later, he complained of being very tired and he had these small red spots on his arms. We later learned they were called petechia, which was caused because his platelets were very low. We had blood tests done and were told to get him to Providence Hospital immediately. From there we were told he needed to be flown to Children’s Hospital in
Seattle to confirm he had leukemia. our lives were turned upside down. Logan initially did well in treatment and quickly achieved remission. We finally got to go home and do maintenance chemo in Anchorage. in April of 1998 he showed signs of relapse and we flew back to Seattle where it was confirmed. We were told Logan’s best chances of survival was to have a bone marrow transplant. A thorough search was done and no one matched him. ironically, his brother and sister matched each other identically. We turned to the Cord blood registry and his transplant took place in August of 1998. on october 24, 1998, Logan succumbed to a fungal infection. our lives were forever changed. We were devastated. i wanted to honor Logan in some way and became an active community volunteer. i volunteered for several organizations, but none was closer to my heart then organizing the Light the night Walk for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and promoting blood and bone marrow drives. i didn’t want a single person in the world to be without a match. i was so excited when Logan’s friend, Caitlin, got on the registry and quickly became a bone marrow donor. Someone got to live because Caitlin honored her friend, Logan. Sixteen years to the month i heard similar words. “you have leukemia”. i was not shocked; in fact, i had suspected for a few weeks that i might have had it. Like Logan, i was a healthy and active person. i had recently been on prophylactic medicine after being stuck
with a dirty needle while at work. the medicine made me extremely ill. After i completed the regimen, i felt worse instead of better. i had an appointment with my doctor the day after we returned from our vacation. our first day in the state of idaho was spent in the er. My symptoms had gotten worse and i knew i needed to be seen. it was there we were given the diagnosis. unfortunately, my rare form of AML is not treated in Alaska so we have had to remain in idaho. At first, i breezed through treatment with little effects. i had two rounds of inpatient chemo and was waiting to start my third. i was walking everyday and doing water aerobics. i was sure i would be done and home before we knew it. My blood counts would not go up, so another bone marrow biopsy was done. We were told i had relapsed just two months into treatment. My only hope was a bone marrow transplant. We were assured that things were different now. With the increased number of people on the registry, we would find a match. unfortunately, that is not the case. i was told i likely have “rare markers” because my ancestors lived in secluded areas in europe. now they do haploid matches where a family member is a half match and their stem cells can be mixed with cord blood and given to the patient. My brother and i were so excited that he would get to give me the ultimate gift of life. We were both devastated when we found out he is not a half match. i want to live and be free from leukemia. i want to continue to use our family’s experience to help others. there are so
many people in the world who need a transplant. Wouldn’t you like to be the one who saves a life? For More oF Kelly’s story Follow her blog at KillingleuK.coM how to become a bone Marrow Donor: the be the Match bone Marrow drive will be held in Palmer on April 25th at the Koslosky’s Center during Who Let the Girls out starting at 10:00 am. you can donate by going online to be the Match @ bethematch.org and request to be a donor. A donor kit will be mailed to you. Getting on the registry is a quick cheek swab. the first step to being someone’s cure is to join be the Match registry.® if you are between the ages of 18 & 44, patients need you. doctors request donors in the 18 & 44 age group 90% of the time. When you join be the Match registry, your tissue type is added to the registry. it is not a marrow donation; you do not actually donate until you are a match for a patient. if you have questions, please visit the site, many more questions can be answered. you can donate if you are over the age of 44, but there is a fee. there is more information on the website. Again, the reason for the age is that 90% of eligible donors are between the ages of 18 and 44. if you are over this age, you can still help – the simplest way is to encourage your family and friends who are within the age range to get on the registry.