Community Corner
Giving a Part of Yourself to Say “Thank You”
A year ago the
Wielgos family was distraught when their daughter Sarah, age 19, was diagnosed
with a rare and aggressive form of leukemia. She began treatment at the Ronald
McDonald® Children’s Hospital at Loyola
University Medical
Center.
“She needed a bone
marrow transplant so was transferred to the adult transplant floor. We were
fortunate that her sister, Mary, matched and was able to be her donor,” said
her mom, Suzanne.
Six months later
Sarah is home and doing well. Still, after many months in the hospital the
Wielgoses know not all families get the same joyful outcome. To say “thank you”
to the Loyola care team and to honor of those who did not find donor, the
family is sponsoring a bone marrow registry donor drive at Plainfield Central
High School, where their children are students.
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“Although we were
blessed to discover that Mary could be Sarah’s donor, we met many patients at
Loyola who are not so fortunate and must turn to the international bone marrow
registry in hopes of finding a match. We
are so thankful for the support we received from the Plainfield community
during Sarah’s cancer journey, so we wanted to give back by registering as many
people as we can—and, hopefully, save lives,” said Suzanne.
The drive will be
held at 1:00 pm on Oct. 5th during the homecoming football game. The
Be the Match organization is providing 100 swab kits are used to collect a
sample of cells from the cheek to determine if the potential donor will match a
patient in need.
