Like a Good Neighbor...

No, this is not another sponsor thank you to a popular insurance company whose jingle everyone can finish...  I wish that were the case.

About a year ago a new couple moved into our neighborhood.  Being good neighbors my husband, daughter and I tried to deliver brownies...several times.  This couple never seemed to be home.  So we did what anyone would do.  We "stalked" them.  (We kept an eye on the house so we could catch them at home.)  One evening we got lucky and saw a car pulling into the garage.  With a fresh batch of brownies in hand, we rushed over.  Within a few minutes we discovered why it was this newly-wed couple could never be caught at home.

A few months after becoming husband and wife, a few weeks after starting a new job and buying a new house and very shortly after finding out Mrs. Good Neighbor was expecting their first child, Mr. Good Neighbor was diagnosed with t-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma with acute leukemia.  Their "happily ever" would have to wait until after several rounds of chemotherapy and a declaration of remission.

Chemo was completed.  Remission was declared.  And, Baby Girl Good Neighbor was born!!

Unfortunately...Mr. Good Neighbor was told this past week his cancer has relapsed.  It's currently "only" in his lymph nodes (not in his blood or bone marrow), which means chances of survival are much higher.  He'll undergo two rounds of chemo then be rechecked to see how well the treatments worked.  If he is even in partial remission, he will be a candidate for a bone marrow transplant.

Here's where you have a chance to be a Good Neighbor.  There are countless cancer patients out there who are looking for bone marrow and/or blood stem cell donors.

If you are between the ages of 18 and 60, and are healthy, you could save someone's life by donating marrow or blood stem cells.  It all starts with a painless swab of the inside of your mouth in order to determine if you have what it will take to save a life.  After that, donating blood stem cells is very similar to donating plasma.  Basically after taking a series of injections prior to the procedure, your blood is drawn, the necessary parts are separated out, and then your blood is put back into your body.  Marrow donation is a bit more involved and requires an outpatient procedure where a needle is inserted into your pelvic bone allowing life-giving marrow (the juice in the middle of your bones) to be removed.

If you'd like more information please visit the National Marrow Donor Website's FAQ page.  The life you save could be your own neighbor's...the life she saves could be yours.  Won't you be a good neighbor today??