this is sydney. she is the niece of my friend Amanda. she has leukemia. she is fighting for her life.
she needs a bone marrow donor.
did you know it is super easy to register as a bone marrow donor? I had no idea either.
it takes about five minutes and all you do is swab the inside of your cheek…that’s it! if you can’t find a bone marrow drive near you, you can actually order a kit online (for free) and swab yourself at home.
And if you love a good party, invite your friends or co-workers to join the registry along with you and host a swab party!
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she is precious. just look at that face! i keep looking into her eyes… thinking about her mom and dad.
cancer SUCKS!
if you are like me you always wish there was something you could do to help.
Well, this time there is! And the great thing is not only could you possibly be helping Sydney but also others who are fighting blood cancer.
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The flier is for our local drive in Newton that is happening next weekend, but there are lots of ways everyone can get involved:
LOCALS…
If you are between the ages of 18-55, meet the health criteria, and live in the Newton or Wichita areas mark your calendars! There are two drives going on around here which makes it so easy for you…all you have to do is show up. Remember…it only takes about 5 minutes.
Newton:
Saturday, November 16
9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Koerner Heights Church
320 N Meridian Street, Newton, KS
Wichita:
Tuesday, November 19
10:00 AM – 7:00 PM
Asbury Church
2801 W 15th Street, Wichita, KS
NON-LOCALS…
You can still help! Did you know you can order a kit that will be sent to your home, swab yourself and send it in? Or…that you can host a swab party and invite friends and coworkers to get on the registry along with you?
To order your kit and register online go to Delete Blood Cancer. Under Quick Links click Become a Donor/Register Online. This will take you through the process to order your swab kit. In the personal data section there is a drop down menu that asks where you heard about Delete Blood Cancer and you can choose “Sydney Balzer” so that everyone can be linked in order to see how many people were added in honor of Sydney!
COLLEGE STUDENTS…
YOU ARE NEEDED!! College students, ages 19-25 have the BEST marrow for transplants…they have the lowest rate of their marrow being rejected next to siblings! So, if you are a college student would you consider registering online by ordering a swab kit or hosting a swab party on your campus? Go to Delete Blood Cancer for more information.
WILL YOU CONSIDER DOING THIS SOON??
Right now Sydney has two possible matches from the donor list and neither one of them can be located. Friends and family are spreading the word and hosting drives in order to get as many new names on the list as possible. The plan is for her doctors to run a new report sometime after Thanksgiving when all of these drives are over. Would you consider ordering your swab kit or hosting a swab party before then too? We’d love to get as many new names on the registry as possible and we are praying that one of them would be Sydney’s match! You can join us in praying for Sydney too!
If you order a swab kit or host a swab party I’m sure Sydney’s family would love to know…so leave a comment! And if you have any questions you can leave a comment or visit the Delete Blood Cancer site. You can find a few more facts about bone marrow donation and what happens if you are selected as a match below for those who are wondering.
To learn more about Sydney’s story watch this local news segment and follow the Team Sydney Facebook page.
tracy fisher - tears and prayers. blessings to you all. -tracy
Karen Gerstenberger - Meg, I am so sorry to see this news, but grateful that you told all of your readers about the Bone Marrow Registry. There is a group called “Be A Hero, Become A Donor” (BAHBAD) that was founded by a woman in CA named Gina. They have a facebook page, so if anyone wants to learn about organizing a donor drive, Gina and BAHBAD can help.
I also want to mention that here in Seattle, there is a clinical trial open for relapsed leukemia using T-Cell therapy (at the Ben Towne Center for Childhood Cancer Research, which Katie’s endowment supports). The first patient went into remission in about 9 days, and the second patient is about to receive treatment. If Sydney’s family wants to investigate this, they can look up the Jensen Lab or the Ben Towne Center at http://www.seattlechildrens.org. God bless Sydney and her family!
– Karen Gerstenberger (author of “Because of Katie”)
karenlboren at yahoo dot com.
Tiffany - I was scared even to read this post. This is hard hard hard. I will order the kit for sure.
Elizabeth Cannata - Cancer can bite me! I had cancer when I was 16 years old. I had Hodgkin’s Lynphoma and it took some of the best months and years of my teenage life. But what I gained in return was priceless. I learned not to sweat the small stuff and to enjoy every second of every day. I didn’t know that college students are one of the best populations to use for marrow. GUESS WHAT?? I WORK AT A COLLEGE!!! Guess who is going to have a bone marrow drive at my college? Yep, me!! I will hold this bone marrow drive in Syndey’s honor. Never ever give up hope sweet girl. You can and will win this fight!!!
April R - Praying she finds her match…let us know? Thanks very much Meg
Leah bell - Hey Sydney I donated bone marrow to my then eight year old second cousin 19 years ago. He is going along great all these years later living a wonderful life. Miracles do happen. Stay strong your donor will appear! Sending lots of love and best wishes from Australia
Tanya - Prayers for sweet Sydney. Thanks for sharing this Meg.
Flower Patch Farmgirl - Yes to this!
So glad you shared this.
Cory and I got on the registry a couple years ago when they started talking about C needing a transplant in the future. I had no idea it was so simple.
Praying she finds her donor!
Amanda - THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU a million times Megan!!! I know there may not be tons of locals that can come out to the drives…but even 5 more could mean all the difference in the world to Sydney, or even be someone else’s match!! Thank you for taking the time to post this for us! You’re the best!
Beth - Unfortunately, I can’t register due to being Type 1 Diabetic, but I will spread the word and the story. Hopefully, She will be match ASAP! Definitely praying for her (and all others like her).
Emily - Hey there!
I am so glad that I was able to read your post today. I just finished signing up to be a donor and I can’t wait to find out what I can do to help! I am a college student and I am SO excited to hear that my age is the best age to donate bone marrow. I can’t wait to see what happens.
Thanks so much for sharing this. Prayers will be sent daily for sweet Sydney.
Emily
Lori - I am already on the registry (joined when my best friend’s son was needing a BMT)but I will most certainly pray for this sweet girl. Thanks for bringing attention to the fact that more donors are needed on the registry.
Tracie M. - My brother needed a donor in the mid-90’s and no one in our family was a match. At that time, my then-fiance, now husband, heard about a marrow drive and we went and registered. My brother was matched and although he passed away, I hoped that someday I would have the chance to be matched and donate. I got a call in 2009 and went through several months of testing and was matched to a 54 year old woman.
There was a lot of medical mystery in our family, with multiple family members dying and no doctor could pinpoint why. As the doctors at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) tested me to figure out if I could donate marrow, they decided there was too much risk to let me donate, BUT they had me speak to a doctor who had discovered a brand new genetic mutation. Another few months passed with more testing on other living family members and we had our medical mystery solved.
God is amazing and His timing is perfect. REGISTER. You just never know if you’ll get that call to help. The registry desperately needs minorities on the list, especially Asian men and women!
Jen - Yes, cancer does suck! My daughter, Katy, and her classmates were just on our local news this week because they are making Rainbow Loom bracelets to raise money to support a fellow 3rd grade boy at their school who is battling Leukemia. He is in an isolation room at a children’s hospital and I know he, too, is having bone marrow issues. I hate this. I pray to God for Gabe and will now also pray for Sydney.