OT: Fwd: personal message from Dr. Jemsek

[Guest guest]

Subject: personal message from Dr. Jemsek

PLEASE DO PASS ON!! Message comes from ILADS

Barbara Buchman!! !! I did sign up and was a member of national bone marrow

donor program until 1997. I received a call as I was an  exact MATCH for someone

but they would not let me give as I had had melanoma mole which had been caught

EARLY and COMPLETELY REMOVED AFTER two opinions. Very important as Dr Jemsek

has done so much for so so many!! Please do all you can!! 

 

personal message

from Dr. Jemsek

 

 

Dear patients,

friends, and family,

         

My wife Kay and I are writing to you today to make a somber request on behalf

of our six year old daughter, Jordan.  As most of you may already know,

last September 2009 Jordan

was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). She received outstanding  care during several rounds

of extended chemotherapy while hospitalized for 6 ½ months at Presbyterian

Hospital in Charlotte at the Hemby Cancer center.  When

Jordan

was declared in remission  we were finally able to bring  her home on Easter day

this Spring.  After several joyful months at home with Jordan, this past week we were devastated to

learn that Jordan

has relapsed. In the upcoming weeks, she will begin receiving chemotherapy in

preparation for a bone marrow transplant that she will have later this winter.

         

Last year, after

much research aided by the excellent support of the Hemby physicians in Charlotte and the Pediatric Oncology Department at

Children’s Hospital in Washington, DC,

 we were already exploring the option for Jordan to have

a bone marrow transplant in the event that the chemotherapy was

ineffective.  Unfortunately, neither members of her family, nor those in

the national donor registry provided a satisfactory match.

 Unfortunately, at this time we are left without another option and must

proceed with a bone marrow transplant for Jordan

to survive.  We anticipate that the transplant will occur in March/April 2011

at Children’s Hospital in DC after Jordan

undergoes an estimated 3 months of induction chemotherapy at the Hemby Center;

she is on her way to the hospital with us today.   In order to increase the

likelihood that we find a better match for Jordan, we are asking friends and

family to participate in joining the National Marrow Donor Program. Because

patients are most likely to match someone of their own race or ethnicity,

please be aware that Jordan

comes from a ish, Irish, and Ukrainian background. We have outlined the

simple steps below in how one can get signed up to be part of this registry.

         

For all of our patients and others suffering from  Lyme Borreliosis

Complex, the highly disturbing irony is that the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) does recognize chronic Lyme disease

while the general community does not. As part of the NMDP medical guidelines, patients with  ‘chronic

Lyme disease ‘ may not register

(details on the linked site below).  However, we would humbly request that

those individuals struggling with Lyme Borreliosis encourage other family

members and friends to consider joining the registry.

         

As for those of you wanting to be tested specifically as a match for Jordan, i.e. a

designated donation, due to the complicated process and cost of being tested

privately, we instead recommend and request that you enter the general

registry. We greatly appreciate all of the prayers and overwhelming support

that our family has received, and we ask for you all to continue to pray as we

continue on our journey towards Jordan’s

recovery from this devastating disease. If you have questions, please contact

Ballas at eballas@....

  As

before, regular updates will be posted to www.caringbridge.org

under keyword jordanjemsek. 

God Bless,

Dr. and Mrs. ph G. Jemsek 

 

From

the National Marrow Donor Program website:

 

In

order to get signed up in the Be the Match

Registry, please follow these easy steps.

 

1.      To get signed up now, you can

register online and have a test kit sent to your home!

·        

Go to this website and follow the instructions: http://www.marrow.org/JOIN/Join_Now/join_now.html

Confirm you meet basic registry guidelines. (Must be between the

ages of 18 and 60. Please pay special attention to the medical

guidelines)

Complete the online form and order your registration kit, which

should arrive in 7-10 days. It is free to join and get tested, but please

also consider making a financial contribution.

Follow your instructions in your kit to collect a swab of cheek

cells and return the kit in the mail.

2.      If you’d like to get tested

in person, please use the following link to locate a nearby donor drive or

recruitment center.

·        

http://www.marrow.org/JOIN/Join_in_Person/index.html

 

For

more information, please visit: http://www.marrow.org.