Why are we so lucky?

I admit it. I am obsessed. I am obsessed with other people's sick children and I don't know why. It all started many months ago when a family contacted our twins club desperately seeking platelet donations for their daughter (a twin) who was diagnosed with leukemia and was gearing up to have a marrow transplant. She and her brother are 3 days younger than Carter and I instantly felt compelled to help. I made an appointment at Children's Hospital to donate and have donated three more times since then. I have also convinced Arnie to donate and we try to alternate Saturday mornings doing this (you can only donate once every two weeks). I feel it is incredibly important to donate as Children's Hospital (CHLA) always runs a deficit when it come to platelets. They have had to skip every other treatment for Hailey because there just aren't enough. I signed up to receive updates for this little girl through her "care page" at the hospital. It is more or less a blog that her Mom updates every few weeks to keep everyone posted on how she is doing. I have never met these people...why am I so drawn to the story and so compelled to help? A few nights ago her Mom updated the care page and said that the doctors had sat them down and told them that the chances of this sweet baby making it are not good. I was told by a nurse at Children's that babies with this type of leukemia diagnosed before age 1 generally didn't make it, so although this news was not a surprise, I was still devastated. It brings tears to my eyes just to think about it, which I find myself doing all the time.

If you are interested or can find time in your busy lives to make it over to CHLA, platelet and blood donations are always desperately needed and greatly appreciated. The phone number for the blood donor center is: 323-361-2441. You can make an appointment to donate blood or platelets at this number. Be warned, unlike blood, platelet donation is a long process. It is usually about 3 hours from start to finish. You get to choose a movie to watch and they give you juice, cookies, and a $5 meal voucher for the cafeteria (which actually can buy quite a bit of nice food) when you are done. If you are going to do it, eat lots of calcium rich foods before you go and in the few days leading up to it! I highly recommend doing this if you can. It is a big investment of your time, but the feeling of pride you get knowing that you did something great for someone else is priceless.

BUT, this isn't all. We also have a set of identical twins in our twins club who have a rare genetic blood disease (HLH) and are trying to find a marrow match to do a transplant that will save their lives. So of course, I ran right over to the LDS church down the street where they were doing the drive and got 'swabbed.' Arnie couldn't make it, so we ordered a kit for him to do it at home (anyone can do that by the way). If you are interested in getting your marrow information into the system to help the precious twin boys or anyone else in need, you can go to http://www.dkmsamericas.org/ and click "join the registry" on the right hand side of the page. There you can have a kit delivered to your home or find out where the next local drive will be. It only takes a few minutes to join. No needles, just a couple swabs of your cheeks to get some good cells. Admittedly, it took me almost thirty minutes to do it because I was riveted and in tears watching the video of the twins they had running when I went to donate. If you are a glutton for punishment (or not an easy crier) you can watch it too at: http://web.mac.com/xander.denke/X&C_Home_Page/Marrow_Drive_Video.html

With any luck one person will match these two sweet boys. One person, can save both of their lives in this case! If you would like to know more about these babies, you can visit their family's website at: http://web.mac.com/xander.denke/X&C_Home_Page/PRIVYET!.html

Okay, and that has GOT to be it right? Nope! I was looking for a good web resource about Hailey (the baby with leukemia) to send a friend of mine the other day and in my search stumbled upon yet another family's blog. They have a little boy named Fyn who was diagnosed with a form of liver cancer that had metastasized to his heart and lungs when he was a few months shy of five years old. He was 4. Jadon and Cole are 4. I am now sucked in to yet another soberingily sad story. That said, he is doing okay right now. He is also being treated at Children's Hospital, also occasionally needs platelet and blood (O+ Arnie's type), and lives very close to my parents. I must have spent 2 hours last night reading their blog form March 2006 when he was diagnosed to present. I may have skipped some in the middle, but I got the picture. They have been doing many benefit concerts to help his family financially as well as one truly amazing art auction (Fyn's Dad works for Cartoon Network). If you feel compelled, you may want to keep an eye on their blog to see if any concerts are coming up (in the LA area) or if they need blood or platelets. http://fynstec.blogspot.com/

Why are WE so lucky? I don't know and I don't want to know. All I know is that I need to do my part to make sure that I help those in need whenever possible. Jadon and Cole know that we go to CHLA to donate platelets. They know there is a sick baby there that needs them desperately and that we are trying to help. They are young, but I still think it is a good lesson for them and I hope it impacts who they will be as adults.

As for me, I don't know if this is good for me. I know I have learned a lot about myself and have begun to change my thinking because of these children and their stories. I don't know if I am changed for the better, but I am changed for good.

And on a lighter note: to avoid any accusations of plagiarism, yes, I know that the sentence just prior to this one is stolen from "Wicked." I think that that statement is one of the most powerful ones in the play and I can see how it applies to my life in so many ways. So there...duly cited!