Katie needs your Help Stem Cell Clinic in Cambridge, ON Feb. 22 Fighting Leukemia

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I wanted to share this post with you because as you know fighting Leukemia is something I am familiar with.  It was not I that had to fight the fight but my sister.  When I was 3 months pregnant, I made an unplanned call to my sister to tell her the good news.  I didn’t know that that evening would change the trajectory of my life, that of my family and that of my sister.  I would learn the meaning of the words chemotherapy, stem cell clinic and donor match.

“She has leukemia”… those were the words my brother-in-law said to me.  I will never forget where I was, what I was doing and what I thought. “Why… why…why her? Why not me?  I had been the one that smoked when I was younger, partied, did some crazy things… she was the good one.  Never did anything to bring this kind of hell to her life.  Why her?”

That would be the first time that my sister fought and won her battle with Leukemia.  The second battle would be waged 10 years later… almost to the day.  “It’s back”  Those were the words my sister said to me.  I knew… I knew better then anyone what IT was.

The thing with Leukemia is that it is likely to return, it was just a matter of time.  She fought harder this time… it was more relentless this time. It almost took her from us but she would have nothing to do with that. She conquered it yet again.

It can happen.  It happened for her and it can happen for this little girl.

My good friend and blogging buddy Cyn Gagen wrote this post yesterday and I wanted to share it with my readers because I would like you to help.  My sister was treated with chemo, radiation and medication.  These options are not going to cure Katie.  She needs a stem cell transplant.   That means that she needs to find a donor and all it takes is a swab test.  I’ll let Cyn explain the rest.

Below is her blog post:

katiestar

I first met Katie at the preschool she used to attend. I go there to help out making crafts with the kids from time to time and I remember my time with Katie fondly.  She was always so sweet and so happy and she loved to do crafts with me!  Now this beautiful four year old girl is fighting for her life, having relapsed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia for a second time.  She just spent her 90th day in the hospital, when she should be playing with her friends!

Although this type of cancer usually responds quite well to treatment, Katie is one of a small number of children who don’t respond to the standard treatment. She desperately needs a stem cell donor  A stem cell donor clinic has been set up for Saturday February 22nd at the Cambridge Sports Park, 1001 Franklin Blvd., Cambridge, Ontario from 1 to 5 p.m.  If you are a male or female between the ages of 17-35 and in general good health, you may qualify for donation.  You can join the Facebook event for this day here. If you are unable to attend this day, but would like to be added to the donor list, please go to OneMatch and fill out the registration forms here to become a stem cell donor.

Not in that age group?  You can still help! Donate blood (stem cell transplant patients often need blood transfusions), volunteer to help register others at the event, organize a fundraiser in your area for Katie, and most of all, spread the word! Tweet, share on Facebook, please please please put it out there on every social media platform you possibly can!  Want some flyers to hang up around town? Let me know and I’ll hook you up! Have some ideas for fundraising events? I’ll put you in contact with the Katie’s Kure fundraising group.

It’s so easy to do something small that could have a big impact on Katie’s life! Please help us find a match for this precious little girl!

Read more: http://creativecynchronicity.com/2014/02/hope-for-katie-star/#ixzz2sZ9vsUAW


A former classroom teacher, Cyn now blogs at Creative Cynchronicity, a place where she celebrates the joy, fun, and creativity she finds in every day as well as Gagen Girls, where she and her daughter blog about their unique perspectives on pretty much everything! Cyn is passionate about community involvement and works as the social media manager and events coordinator at Charity Wings and is a volunteer Community Food Advisor.

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Margarita Ibbott is a travel and lifestyle blogger. She blogs about travel in Canada, the United States and Europe giving practical advice through restaurant, hotel and attraction reviews. She writes for DownshiftingPRO.com and other online media outlets.

6 thoughts on “Katie needs your Help Stem Cell Clinic in Cambridge, ON Feb. 22 Fighting Leukemia”

  1. Margarita, I believe in this little girl. I just lost an aunt to glioblastoma last month (too young) and this little girl MUST find a match. I will share you post with my A Vision For Our Kids community and my 500+ personal FB friends. Someone has to be a match, somewhere if people keep sharing this information. What better week to share it – Random Acts of Kindness week. I’m very optimistic.

  2. I don’t know if I can express my feelings any better than the way Dani put it. My heart hurts, and my fingers are crossed for Katie. I am also grateful for your sister’s will to fight – I love it when cancer gets kicked to the curb!

  3. One of my most memorable stories as a young reporter was a sweet sweet child about this age who struggled with the same type of leukaemia. She fought it and won and is a healthy girl now – actually now she’d be in her 20s. She lived in Cambridge. I went with her back and forth to her treatment for several days to chronicle her journey and one Christmas Day we rented a limousine and picked her up from Sick Kids in Toronto and drove her back home to her parents for the day. It was one of the best and most heart breaking stories I ever wrote But she was okay. Her donor was in Texas and was a grown woman. So know that regardless of your age or any other factors you could be a match for someone who needs this gift badly.

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