Be The Match

There were two "cliché" terms I remember my mom telling me while I was growing up, "You'll understand when you're a mom,” and "There's nothing you wouldn't do for your child."  She was right, the moment that sweet baby boy was placed in my arms I felt an immediate love and an overwhelming sense of needing to protect this little baby.  

I have been blessed to have four healthy children and more so, I have been blessed to never have to personally know what it feels like to helplessly watch your child suffer with a life-threatening disease. Knowing that if you had the chance and if it were possible, you would gladly trade places with them in order to ensure that their life would be saved and that their suffering would finally end.  One of the reasons I have chosen to advocate for these children is that while the statistics prove that they need more people fighting for them, inevitably it comes down to the fact that if, heaven forbid, one of my children were to get sick, I cannot ask someone else to do what I myself am not willing to do for them.  In other words, my mission is to be and do whatever I have to in order to help save another mother's child.  Today, this includes becoming registered to be a bone marrow donor.

This is not the first time I was aware of Bone Marrow Donation, it is however, the first time I became aware of some staggering statistics and facts:

• I never understood the urgency for me to register as a donor when these children can just get it from immediate family members...surely they are a better match than me, right?  Wrong, ONLY 30% OF FAMILY MEMBERS END UP BEING A MATCH TO SAVE THEIR LIFE.  Meaning 70% of these patients desperately needing a Bone Marrow transplant wait for a donor.  6 out of 10 patients never receive the transplant that they desperately need because their family is not a match.

• I always thought it was painful and invasive... it’sabout as painful as donating blood.  76% of the time the patient’s physician will need the donor’s stem cells.  Blood is taken out of a donor's arm.  That blood is put in a machine, and stem cells are separated and the blood is returned through the other arm. Depending on the specific case, some doctors may extract the bone marrow from your hip bone while you are under anesthetic and feel no pain.

• Leukemia kills more children every year than any other cancer.

Dr. Daren Gatherum was the doctor who delivered my last three children.  There was something about him and his bedside manner that relieved all my worries and concerns up to and during the actual delivery.  He never made me feel rushed during my appointments, he made it a priority to make sure I knew that I was the most important patient to him at that moment and I believe that most of his patients feel that way.  So I wasn't surprised when I found out that he donated his bone marrow in order to help save a 14 yr. old girl’s life.  What did surprise me was that he had registered back in 1993 when he was in pre-med.  How incredible is it that after being on the registry for 19 years, he was still able to save a life.  

 

Because of the impact that it had on him and his family, Dr. Gatherum's 14 yr. old son, Ben, chose to use this to help him earn his Eagle Project.  He has organized a "Be The Match" Bone Marrow registry that is set for tomorrow, Thursday, October 25th from 4:30-8:30 p.m . at the Canyon View Stake Center, 1985 North Main.  However, IF YOU CAN'T ATTEND THIS PARTICULAR DRIVE, PLEASE REGISTER ONLINE AT www.join.bethematch.org/BenGatherum.  

It took me 5 minutes and 27 seconds to register.  I guess the question is, if you would do anything for your child, is your child worth 5 min and 27 seconds to register?  If so, do for another mother what you would hope she would do for you. I'm registered, are you?