What’s New/ National Marrow Donor Program volunteering
Well, this summer has been an intense, busy one. Tor doesn’t seem to do the heat very well, nor does he like wearing the paw-protectors I make him wear during the day (to keep him from burning his paw pads on the scorching ground). However, he VERY MUCH likes drinking water. Which, in Phoenix, is a very good thing. I don’t go out in the heat of the day unless I am going to work, or the YMCA. This Phoenix heat is just not a good thing for anyone. So, I try not to take Tor out in it, either. Still, when I do, he is quite a trooper. When we get back home, he always goes straight for the water bowl as if he hasn’t drank water all day.
I have been to most of the Phoenix WNBA home games this summer, and of course, Tor has also gone with me every time. The first few times, he spent most of his evening watching the basketball bounce back and forth across the court, tracking the ball’s every move. It was pretty entertaining, just watching him! Now, he only becomes distracted from his work when he sees other kids around bouncing a basketball in the walkways of the arena. Which I still think is kinda interesting, since he has watched me and my friends shoot hoops many many times at parks. You would think he would be used to it by now… guess not. He’s just too playful.
Right now I’m just tutoring/home schooling my 2 students, working out the details for taking the GRE test, and planning a road trip to California in November with my sister and 3 friends. So, I am keeping busy. Last weekend, on Sunday afternoon, I volunteered to be the “bait” for Brigid’s Brigade. They were setting up tables at the local mall to get people to sign up for the Marrow Donor Registry. The problem, though, is that the mall wouldn’t allow the volunteers to approach people, they had to come to the volunteers. Sooo, graduates and puppy raisers from CCI were asked to volunteer to bring their super-adorable dogs as people-bait. I educated them a little on CCI, and then explained why I was there, helping the Marrow Donor Registry. My shift was from 3-5, and I recruited many people in that 2 hour period, thanks in part to Tor’s cuteness. I met quite a few really fun, nice people who were also volunteering their time for the cause, including a woman just a little older than me who had orchestrated the whole thing, after being a cancer survivor herself. The whole thing was very fun!
In case you are wondering what the Marrow Donor Registry is all about; it is a program that matches people who have cancer, and are in need of a bone marrow transplant, with volunteers who are willing to donate theirs. There are thousands of people who are in need of a bone marrow transplant every year, and only about 30% of the time do they have someone in their family who is also match. So, at that point, the only other option is for these people to try to find a volunteer in the Registry who IS a match. There is a 1 in 20,000 chance that a match can be found. Therefore, the more people who are registered as possible donors, the higher the odds for the person who has cancer to actually find a match, and therefore increase their chances. And, when you register, that only thing you have to do is fill out a questionnaire and get your cheek swabbed (to analyze who you might be a possible match with). That’s it–unless you ever become a match with someone, in which case you can then choose exactly what procedure(s) you feel comfortable doing- donating blood, liquid marrow, etc.
This subject is close to my heart, as my family (and close family friends) has had experiences with cancer, Leukemia, etc. We have seen how difficult the bone marrow transplant process can be and how it can also make such a difference in peoples’ lives. If you or anyone you know has/had cancer, you know how scary and painful it can be. Please consider signing up with the National Marrow Donor Program. Who knows, you may be the only one able to save someone else’s life, the difference between life and death. Here’s the link: http://www.marrow.org/index.html
