Bone Marrow Registry to Support Isabella Battle

Please come out and support Monica Battle and her daughter Isabella by joining the bone marrow registry and encouraging others to do so as well. Their goal is to register 50-100 people through the June 21st drive.

Isabella is a 4-year old girl that is suffering from Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML). Her only possible cure from this blood disease is a Bone Marrow Transplant.

For more information about Isabella Battle please visit www.battle4bella.blogspot.com and Be the Match for Isabella.

Date: Monday, June 21, 2010
Time: 3-7 p.m.
Location: DC Bilingual Public Charter School/CentroNía
1420 Columbia Road, NW
Washington, DC 20009

Please contact Alison Auerback at aauerbach@centronia.org or Xina Eiland at xinaeiland@me.com if you have any questions or would like to help with this effort. They thank you for your support.

The guidelines for joining the registry are simple. All you need is to:
1. Be between the ages of 18 and 60
2. Be willing to donate to any patient in need
3. Meet the guidelines

These conditions would prevent you from joining the registry:
HIV or risk for HIV
Hepatitis or risk for hepatitis
Most forms of heart disease or cancer
Chronic lung disease
Diabetes requiring insulin or diabetes-related health issues
Diseases that affect blood clotting or bleeding
Recent back surgery, or severe ongoing back problems
Autoimmune/neurological disorders such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis or multiple sclerosis
Being an organ or marrow transplant recipient
Significant obesity
Current sleep apnea

http://video214.com/play/ktNzL7H4hNDRsyRWMcpzdA/s/dark

Hello everyone,

I decided to write an update for my sister because I know that things are hectic in Cincinnati right now. As I understand it, Isabella is still going through count recovery after her last round of chemo. Her latest bone marrow test (LP) showed that she still has about 3-5% leukemia cells in her marrow. This is a significant decrease considering on March 9th she had 85%. She is in a holding pattern at the moment for two reasons: 1) the doctors want to see if her body is making healthy white cells on its own, and 2) because she had a terrible allergic reaction last Friday to the contrast from her CT scan.

Monica and Isabella haven’t been sleeping as well lately and the steroid rage is in full effect. I had to laugh when Isabella answered the phone and told me,” Mommy isn’t allowed to talk now. I love you Auntie Brooke, Good Bye”, then proceeded to quickly hang up on me.

Isabella has another LP on Monday to see if she is in remission yet. Based on the results, they will know their next steps…another round of chemo or preparation chemo for transplant. The school year is coming to an end so I know that Monica will have more time to post etc. after that point. Until then I’ll try to keep everyone informed.

All of you know about Monica’s desire to spread the word and increase awareness in getting people to register for the National Marrow Donor Program. I am happy to report that to date there have been several successful drives. Monica’s good friend organized one in Indianapolis that is taking place today at Eli Lilly. They have over 10,000 employees and are typing people with the assistance of their employee health nurses…WOW. I am also holding one in San Diego coming up on June 26th at San Diego Christian Worship Center as well as an online drive from May 5th to July 5th. You can join online at http://join/marrow.org When asked to provide a “Promo Code”, please enter Isabella. Knowing my sister…this effort will continue even after Isabella transplants. She will probably use Isabella’s blog spot www.battle4bella@blogspot.com to further this very important cause. I know many of you have questions that Monica would love to answer and I’m sure she will when time permits regarding what happens after you join the registry. In the meantime, you can check out the National Marrow Donor website to have your questions answered. Again, thank you for all of your support and prayers.

Be Well,
Brooke

Battle4Bella - Be The Match for her & many others...register now!

UPDATE:

DATE:
Tuesday, April 27, 2010

TIME:
10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

LOCATION:
University of Cincinnati
TUC 400 A
Drive contact: Jasmine at buxtonjeoucmail.uc.edu or 556-1177


A simple cheek swab is all it takes!!!

I mentioned in an earlier post that we have a possible match for Isabella. Her doctors are continuing to look, and will continue because they may find a better match. I am trying to create momentum by holding marrow drives to create awareness and register people to join the registry. I would love to find the perfect match for Isabella and others.

The guidelines for joining the registry are simple. All you need is to:
1. Be between the ages of 18 and 60
2. Be willing to donate to any patient in need
3. Meet the guidelines

These conditions would prevent you from joining the registry:
HIV or risk for HIV
Hepatitis or risk for hepatitis
Most forms of heart disease or cancer
Chronic lung disease
Diabetes requiring insulin or diabetes-related health issues
Diseases that affect blood clotting or bleeding
Recent back surgery, or severe ongoing back problems
Autoimmune/neurological disorders such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis or multiple sclerosis
Being an organ or marrow transplant recipient
Significant obesity
Current sleep apnea

Because tissue types are inherited, patients are most likely to match someone of their own race or ethnicity. Registry members of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds are especially needed, so every patient has the chance for a cure.

There are currently 7 million people in the registry. The breakdown is as follows:Caucasian – 73%, Hispanic/Latino - 9%, African American/Black – 8%, Asian/South Asian/Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander -7%, Multiple Race – 3%, American Indian/Alaska Native -1%.

Be the Match offers you the unique opportunity to give a life-saving marrow transplant to someone in need. Thousands of patients with leukemia and other life-threatening diseases depend on the Be The Match Registry, the latest and most diverse registry in the world, to find a life-saving donor. We all have the power to heal, the power to help.

You can research the registry online at BeTheMatch.org or call 1-800-MARROW-2. I am going to post a blog that a donor is contributing to soon so that you hear what this experience is like from a donor’s perspective. If you have any questions, or would like to host a drive, please let me know. We have several coming up in Cincinnati, Washington DC, Indianapolis, and San Diego.

Thanks for checking in on us

Monica
(The information and statistics were taken directly from the Be The Match literature)

Battle for Bella!

On March 11, my girlfriend Monica Battle notified me that her four-year old daughter Isabella Battle's leukemia has returned. Isabella received a marrow transplant in September 2008 after a year and a half-battle with the disease. She had been in remission until March 2010 but the cord blood that she received failed and now she is need of another transplant.

Every year, more than 30,000 children and adults are diagnosed with fatal blood diseases like leukemia. In many instances, a bone marrow transplant is their only chance for a cure-but finding a match is easier said than done. Only 30 percent of patients that need a transplant find a matched donor within their family. More often than not, they are forced to turn to the National Marrow Donor Program's (NMDP) Registry of volunteer marrow donors.

Minorities such as African Americans, Asian/Pacific Islanders, Hispanics and Native Americans are overwhelmingly underrepresented in the national registry, giving them a one in a million chance of finding a match there.

Because of my work in public health and health communications, Monica called me to raise awareness about the critical need for people of color to register with the NMDP. Not only to help her find a match for her daughter Isabella but also to help other children of color who are looking for donors.

In 2008, I witnessed my sorority sister and good friend go through this gut-wrenching journey with Isabella, which means God's child, as she watched her daughter fight for her life. Since I’m not a parent, I could never understand how it feels to have absolutely NO CONTROL to help your child.

Since Isabella's first transplant, Monica has worked tirelessly to raise awareness about the critical need for minorities to join the NMDP. Her message to us and from other parents who have children who or in need of a transplant are falling on deaf ears. Not enough hear their desperate pleas.

Today, I am watching my friend go through the same heart-wrenching process of looking for donor to help save her child.

I am asking if you are reading this message, please help Isabella and thousands of other children who are in need of bone marrow donor. THIS IS A MEDICAL CRISIS.

Get educated. Tell others. Get registered. Host a marrow drive in your community. It would be life changing.

All it requires is a cheek swab test and you could be on your way to saving someone’s life.

Please contact me at 703-785-4358 or xinaeiland@me.com to let me know if you are willing to help me push this initiative through your community. For more information on how to host a drive in your community please visit www.marrow.org/join.