July 15, 2006

Navy Seal Needs Help


From Michele Malkin comes a referral for a Navy Seal that needs help:
From The Washington Times (in it's entirety):

Rare is the occasion when a Navy SEAL needs help from his fellow Americans. Perhaps even rarer is the day an ordinary American can help a Navy SEAL. But Justin, 27, whose last name is not being disclosed at the request of the Defense Department, is in need, and Americans, especially readers in the Washington area, have an opportunity to help.

Last month, the Iraq war veteran was diagnosed with leukemia, which is normally treated with chemotherapy. Justin, however, has a rare condition that makes his best chance of survival dependent on a bone marrow transplant. Tragically, neither of Justin's siblings -- who often are the best match for transplants -- is a suitable donor. This makes the chance of finding a donor, according to Justin's sister, Jodi, about one in 25,000. Unless a match can be found, leukemia patients often die within months.

So, last week Justin's hometown newspaper, the East Brunswick, N.J., Sentinel, published a story asking local residents for help. While the Navy SEALs are busy conducting their own donor search, the potential donor field could be increased significantly if Washington-area readers are able to drive the three hours to Spotswood, N.J., where on Saturday the local high school is holding a one-day donor search, courtesy of the Defense Department's Donor Program (www.dodmarrow.org).

Testing is painless. Volunteers would be administered a simple swab on the inside of the cheek to find out if they're a match. That's it. In the rare case you are a match, the marrow extraction process itself is also relatively simple. The procedure includes the taking of a small amount of marrow via needle from the back of the pelvic bone, according to the Defense Department's Donor Program, at either Georgetown University Hospital or the University of Maryland's Greenbaum Medical Center in Baltimore. Patients are fully anesthetized at all times. Concerned readers are encouraged to contact Eddy Medina of the Defense Department program (800-627-7693 ext. 223) to learn more about the testing and procedure.

As quoted in the Sentinel, Justin's sister said: "When he was told that there was only a 30 percent chance of recovery, he replied, 'That's good. There was only a 10 percent chance of me becoming a SEAL'.?" The drive is being held at Spotswood High School, 105 Summerhill Road, Spotswood, N.J., this Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

As one who is currently undergoing Chemo-Therapy for cancer, I can appreciate the fear that Justin and his family are currently experiencing. If you can help, please, please call The Department of Defense (800-627-7693 ext. 223). A simple swab of the cheek might just save this young man's life. If you are a blogger reading this, please spread the word. Thanks Michele, your intervention is greatly appreciated.

Michael Yon is also spreading the word (and is the source of the photo) as is Black Five

Posted by GM Roper at July 15, 2006 08:37 PM | TrackBack
Comments

I linked to this HERE.

Posted by Always On Watch at July 16, 2006 08:42 AM





Oppose Harry Reid



Christians Against Leftist Heresy

Categories


I Stand With Piglet, How About You?


Reject The UN
Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting







Archives

101st Fighting Keyboardists






Prev | List | Random | Next
Join
Powered by RingSurf!

Naked Bloggers


Improper Blogs



Milblogs I Read

The Texas Connection
Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting



American Conservative
Blogroll

The Wide Awakes

twalogo.gif



< TR>
AgainstTerrorism 1.jpg
[ Prev || Next || Prev 5 || Next 5]
[Rand || List || Stats || Join]

Open Tracback Providers

No PC Blogroll


Blogs For Bush
newmed.jpg




My Technorati Profile
Major Media Links



Other
Grab A Button
If you would like to link to GM's Corner, feel free to grab one of the following buttons. (Remember to save the image to your own website).





Whimsical Creations by GM Roper
My Store


Technorati search

Fight Spam! Click Here!
YCOP Blogs



The Alliance
smallerer_seal_whitebackclear.jpg
"GM's Corner is a Blogger's
Blog, and then some!"
-----Glenn Reynolds


Coalition Against Illegal Immigration




Southern Blog Federation


Kim Komando, America's Digital Goddess
Credits
Powered by:
Movable Type 2.64

Template by:


Design by:
Slobokan

Hosted by:
Mu.Nu