Okay, as most of you would know, I am not one who would normally come to a message board with a request of this nature, but it is a situation that is tugging at even My heart.
My neighbor, one of maybe three or four people in the building where I live who is a decent person, got some shocking news yesterday.
Her 4 yr old granddaughter, Hannah, had been having stomach pains among other things. Her parents took her to the local ER after "normal" home treatments hadn't provided any relief, and the hospital here found some irregularities in her blood tests, then had her transferred to Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh.
At Children's, the diagnosis was confirmed, Hannah has leukemia.
This is a little girl who is shy with strangers but a spitfire with those she knows. Cute as a button and funny as hell.
The family is devastated ... her grandmother has always been the one to laugh no matter how bad things appeared, and this woman who has always laughed even about her own stroke, doesn't even smile. Hannah's mother is completing her schooling as a nurse, which is sometimes a disadvantage in a case like this ... you're always taught the worst case scenarios first, because that's what a medical professional is expected to deal with .. so it's probably 10 times as frightening.
So the bottom line is this ... I'm asking for two things.
First, whatever your faith or beliefs, please keep Hannah and her family in your thoughts, prayers, meditations, etc. They will all be needing them.
Second, remember that things like this can happen to anyone. If you are healthy, consider going and being tested as a possible donor. Obviously, in this case, a bone marrow donor .. which in reality is the simplest and least invasive type of donation you can offer, but since we're on the topic, consider organ donation as well. As some of you may remember, I, Myself, am an organ transplant recipient, so I know what a miracle it is to receive that phone call.
Someone, somewhere, will benefit from your caring.
Thanks everybody, in advance.
Tony
