URGENT: Please help save my cousin's life

[armstrong]

My cousin Christine in the US is battling cancer, and urgently needs to find a bone marrow donor. Unfortunately, finding a perfect match for her bone marrow type is particularly difficult. This is hard enough for the average person; there are over 20,000 types of bone marrow, so the average person has a 1 in 20,000 chance of finding a match. These numbers are even worse for Christine. Because she is Filipino, she needs to find a donor of the same ethnic background, and there are hardly any Filipinos on the US National Registry.

Right now is our best chance of having the Bone Marrow Transplant work. Each day's delay decreases her chances of surviving. Please contact your Filipino friends or relatives in the US, and ask them to contact their friends. Anyone you know who is all or part Filipino and between the ages of 18 and 61 is a potential donor. The system is nationwide, so it doesn't matter where they live. Signing up on the registry is easy and painless. All it requires is a simple blood test. Some hospitals charge a small fee for this blood test, however the fee is routinely waived for minorities, and often for Caucasians as well, especially if you are willing to donate a pint of blood.

You can find a registration center by selecting your state on the map on this website. These centers can refer you to bone marrow drives in your community.

http://www.marrow.org/cgi-bin/NETWORK/map.pl?ctr_typ=DC

There is also a wonderful organization in Los Angeles that arranges free registration for Filipino donors.

www.asianmarrow.org

If you have trouble finding a site in your area, have any trouble finding a place to donate for free, or have additional questions, you can reach Christine's boyfriend Jacob at this email address:

info [at] christine.site.ph

You can reassure your friends that signing up for the registry does not require donating any bone marrow. If it turns out they are a match, they will be contacted, and can make the decision at that point about becoming a donor.

There are lots of misconceptions about donating bone marrow. The procedure is considered minor, simple and safe. You will be anesthetized the whole time, so you will not feel anything. When the procedure is over, you may have some soreness in the area for a day or two and you may feel a little tired. That's it. The bone marrowyou donate is replenished within 3-4 weeks. And again, you will only undergo this procedure if your blood sample shows that you are a match and you decide to donate, in which case the slight soreness you'll be feeling will be saving someone's life.

All medical expenses for the donor will be covered by Christine's insurance.

You can find out more about the registry and the donation procedure at this website:

www.marrow.org

Thank you!

Apollo a.k.a. "armstrong" :hearts:

 

[~Christine~]

This is the ID to send donations for the reward fund.


<<<<<====== NP$ GO HERE

While your here, give this ID some rep as a gesture of support and faith.
Lets fill up these green boxes with love from all NPr's

Christines Yahoo ID ... send invitations to your Yahoo groups!!!
http://profiles.yahoo.com/shes2tuff4him
Yahoo! addy [email protected]

craigslist would be another good source to tap. They have a large classified section for the bay area. And are read by lots of people.

Great idea sunken, could you please take care of that? That would really help a lot. cyberian

Good luck dude. I know tons of filipinos but they are all under 18. I'll try to get them to show this thread to their parents or relatives.

Good one man, email them, you call the parents, the Filipino community have very strong bonds, and will reach out if they know, but they have to know!! thanks, cyberian

I am a filipino, although i dont live in the us but im in and out of the us. There are big filipino communities in LA, San Diego, Riverside and of course San Jose/SF area. I suggest contacting all the filipino news papers in the area.. and there are lots and i mean lots of them. Perhaps they will be able to help you. I also suggest standing outside of big filipino grocery stores and restaurants like seafood city, goldilocks and max just to name a few and handing out flyers and talk to the ppl. Effective way also is post them up flyers at all the filipino shops in the area. I know there are hundreds maybe thousands but what ever it takes.

cavinti, if you have reletives or friends in cali, call them and direct them to christines website please. thanks, cyberian

Here are some places APollo to post her story either forums or classified community type listings these seem to have US readership hope this helps in someway.

http://www.efilipinos.com/forum/categories.cfm?catid=6 Classified froum post an ad there.

http://www.pinoyblog.com/ FILIPINO blog network

http://www.thepinoy.com/forums/portal.php large portal site with forum

I also emailed this link to Ron at DN Journal to see if he can post something somewhere on DN Journal

God Bless your cousin and you will keep looking for places that make sense to post

Equity78... you are on it man, thats what I'm talking about... people there are so many ways to help, FIND ONE!!! please, anything.. find links and post in them or send them... and I'll post in them... spam the world on this one folks... send christines url to everyone you know

Apollo, I've numerous relatives there. I'll let them know and hopefully one of
them will be the answer to your loved ones' prayers!

Yea Dave, send them a link to the site. thanks, cyberian

God Bless her.....Im a filipino but im not in the US. I'll tell my friends about this. maybe they could help out. My prayers to her and her family. God is a healer so dont lose hope

gchick, yea please, tell your friends, ask them to tell thier friends... bottom line, the help must come from the Filipino community, thats where the donor is. thanks cyberian

 

[maximum]

They say "What comes up must come down.". God was the first one to use that philosophy. It is commonly called "prayer" by man.

Taken from unknown sources:

- "Faith is not thinking God can, but knowing He will."
We just have to let God know we understand this point, when it comes to his ability to make Christine well again.
- "Faith makes things possible....not easy."
God did not promise Christine (or any of us for that matter) an easy ride in life. But, through our faith, he can make anything overcomable.
- "Our job is not to see through one another;but, to see one another through."
Don't try guessing why Christine has to suffer this. Only God knows the answer to that. It equates to asking why a 3-year-old is killed by a drunk driver, while the drunk survives. There is nothing we would see in Christine that deserves this. We just have to understand that God has his reasons. Our job is to help her through it.
- PUSH: Pray Until Something Happens !
Needs explained?
- " You can tell how big a person is by what it takes to discourage them."
Her courage through this all, shows she is alot bigger than most of us could ever hope to be.

Prayers are with her. Please, keep the updates coming.

 

[Rom]

I hope you'll find a right person.

God Bless Her!

I also purchased a Stickie for this topic, I hope it will help.

 

[Chris]

Apollo, after she has an account and visits the link above by maximum then she'll land on a page to fill out some info fields. In the exact order, they are:

- Donation Name/Service:

- Donation ID/Number:

- Donation Amount: (Can be left blank if you want to accept any amounts)

- Currency: (May choose one of the below)
* Canadian Dollar
* Euro
* Pound Sterling
* U.S. Dollar
* Yen
* Australian Dollar

- Buyer's Country: (Optional)

- Then you can choose the PayPal button that you want to use or you can enter the link to a custom button that you'd like to use.

- You can choose to encrypt your button code or not to encrypt it

*You can then choose "Add More Options" and it will take you to the second page with the following optional fields you may fill out:

- Successful Payment URL: (Optional, This is where you can direct them after they've made a donation)

- Cancel Payment URL: (Optional, You can redirect them to a page if they've cancelled the donation and didn't go through with it.)

- You can choose to require their shipping address or make it optional (Optional)

- Choose yes or no to allow a comment field on the donate page (Optional)

Then once you've got everything filled out you can preview it or click "Create Button Now". It will generate the code for you and all you have to do is copy and paste it into your website where ever she'd like the button to appear. It's all very simple and doesn't take longer than a few minutes to setup.

If Christine needs any help with it, then let me know as I'd be more than happy to help.

All the Best,
Chris

 

[Chris]

Apollo, I've went through and have generated the button code for you to edit and paste onto the site:

Note: When you copy and paste, move the lines up that's went down to the second line (return, cancel_return, image) so they are all together with the rest of their code for that line. This page isn't wide enough so they shifted down to the next line...

<form action="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" method="post">
<input type="hidden" name="cmd" value="_xclick">
<input type="hidden" name="business" value="[email protected]">
<input type="hidden" name="item_name" value="Christine Pechera">
<input type="hidden" name="item_number" value="Christine">
<input type="hidden" name="return" value="http://www.christinepechera.com/thanks.html">
<input type="hidden" name="cancel_return" value="http://www.christinepechera.com/cancel.html">
<input type="hidden" name="cn" value="Personal Note">
<input type="hidden" name="currency_code" value="USD">
<input type="hidden" name="tax" value="0">
<input type="hidden" name="bn" value="PP-DonationsBF">
<input type="image" src="https://www.paypal.com/en_US/i/btn/x-click-but21.gif" border="0" name="submit" alt="Make payments with PayPal - it's fast, free and secure!">
</form>

Here's the fields you'll want to modify:

"business" - Change to her PayPal email address.

"item_name" - You can put a name such as the "Christine Pechera Fund" or whatever you'd like as it will show up on the page once someone clicks the button to donate.

"item_number" - I've put Christine, but you can modify it to what you'd like.

"return" - This is the page they will be redirected to after they've made a donation. You can modify it to where ever the "thank you" page will be.

"cancel_return" - This is where they'll be redirected to if they start the donation, but they hit the cancel button. You could direct them to a page and ask why they've cancelled and let them know any amount will help.

"cn" - This text will be prefilled in for the comments field. I've got "Personal Note" now, but you can change it to anything.

"image" - That's the link to the button graphic. I just did the first button, but I've included an attached screenshot of your other choices and the urls are below for each one to change it if you want a different one. Also you can create your own button for the site as well and change the link to point to yours.

- First Button > https://www.paypal.com/en_US/i/btn/x-click-but21.gif
- Second Button > https://www.paypal.com/en_US/i/btn/x-click-butcc-donate.gif
- Third Button > https://www.paypal.com/en_US/i/btn/x-click-but04.gif
- Fourth Button > https://www.paypal.com/en_US/i/btn/x-click-but11.gif

Those button links are in the same order as the screenshot below. Just pick the one you want and change it to that link from above. Or create your own.

 

[TUFKATH]

Thanks guys. This topic isn't about me though so you know... help armstrong!

 

[WebForging]

Best wishes and our prayers...

Posted your info with a link to this thread:

http://www.thebubbler.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=1858

http://www.webloggers.org/showthread.php?t=1252

http://scouts.com/forums/scouts-cam...459-filipino-bone-marrow-donor-us-needed.html

Best wishes and prayers to your cousin and your family and you.

Regards,
Keith

 

[Kimo]

bump for a good cause!

 

[Kenny]

However, it is legal to offer incentives for actual work done (posting on blogs, forums, etc.). In fact, we have over 20,000NP$ sitting in Christine's account to cover such work. The problem with this is that few like getting paid for such work, preferring instead to volunteer their free time, and few people have truly free time.

If anyone wants to be paid for such work, please PM member "~ Cyberian ~". Don't be shy. There's NP$ earmarked for this. Your work will potentially save a life, and no one has to know that you were paid for it. In fact, there's nothing wrong with getting paid for this kind of work. Other people working to save Christine are getting paid - medical staff, phone operators, drive coordinators, NMDP staff, etc - so there's no shame in getting paid for your time.

Exactly.... We NEED a professional to write an article to be posted in blogs and other forums!!!!! Armstrongs first text is good and could be used as a guideline but what I'm talking about is something universal, quasi generic so that we all can use the same one.

I will also want a translated version (we will find a translator for the finished product) that can be sent to Asian corporations to see if some type of sponsorship perhaps, or even available for distribution to the asian workforce worldwide.

The clock is ticking folks and a donor has yet to be found. We need to flood the net with something so compelling it gains the attention of all who read it.
Please understand the urgency here.

So heres the deal, 5000NPS for this article and we will add it to the pay for posting program as incentive to get it out there.

I'm starting a Thread in the Contest Section so please submit your best work, and I mean dig deep on this one... we all know what is at stake here.

TAKE THE NP$ AND DO IT NOW, PLEASE!!!
This fund has been setup for this purpose and is doing no good where it sits.

Information and content can be gathered from this very thread and also from Christines site (links are everywhere).

And dig, dont ask me what I want or what should be in it 'cuz if I knew any of that it would have been done long ago.

Now to -db-, everything maximum said, and.....

I did not realize this.
I withdraw the offer, and apologize for my ignorance on the topic.
I will continue to campaign by word-of-mouth.

Brother, you have nothing to apologize about. We know it was more than a gesture, it was a comittment and from the heart. No shame in doing the right thing, even when its against the rules..... its still right. :tu:

 

[B33R]

~ Cyberian ~, its 2 days later, anyword ?

There's more info on exactly what's happening on Christine's forum. Direct Link

I am now in the hospital being conditioned for this high-risk transplant, my only hope for survival. Yesterday they drained 60% of my B+ blood and replaced it with O+ blood. The donor’s blood type is O+. In Bone Marrow Transplantation, blood type does not matter because the patient releases her own blood type and adopts the donor’s blood type in its place. I am now B+ but by next week I will be O+. Replacing the blood ahead of time makes the transition a little easier and the transplant more likely to succeed.

I started chemotherapy last night and will continue throughout the week. My blood counts will probably be down to zero by this Monday. Saturday I will get a major dose of Melphalan, a heavy-duty chemotherapy to sledgehammer the cancer with one last big chemo wallop. That will be followed by a few days of anti-rejection transplant drugs. If things are well, I undergo the bone marrow transplant on Wednesday, July 5. The next three weeks will be the most critical; as we pray and hope that the marrow grafts and healthy new blood cells replace the unhealthy ones. I pray that my body does not reject the donor’s stem cells (marrow) and that his stem cells (marrow) do not reject my body. If things stay under control, I will remain in the hospital for 100 days. More than half of those days will be spent in isolation.

That's only part of what Christine wrote in her post here

It sounds terrible. Poor Christine. I really hope she beats it.

 

[Kenny]

~ :tu: ~~ YAY ~ ~ :tu: ~​

Thank you Apollo, and as soon as it's up amd running again
I will continue to keep the members informed.

It really had us worried not hearing any news these past
few weeks, but this report from you is music to my ears.

Kenny

 

[Morph]

I hope you find your person.
God Bless.

 

[toughguy]

All the best Armstrong and ur cousin..

I wish you will find the person soon..

Thanks,

 

[maroulis]

My prayers and wishes rest with Christine and her family. I am an organ donor myself but I'm not much for little Christine..

I've taken the initiative on copy + pasting the same message at my forum also.... just in case somebody knows somebody...

 

[faisj]

May god stand by your side and I hope that all will be fine soon!!!

Goodluck and my thoughts are with Christine and her family.

 

[Mark]

God Bless her - My hopes and prayers for a matching Donor are with her ...

 

[weblord]

God is the Healer, and He can heal your cousin Christine and restore her body. In Jesus' Name Amen! He is Jehovah Raphah - the God That Heals - Isaiah 53:5

 

[bentong]

My prayers for christine and her family...

 

[charbar]

....God Bless her....never give up hope!......

 

[-db-]

I'm not Filipino so a donor match is out, but I'm adding her to my prayers and sending good vibes in her direction. It's difficult to find the appropriate words for this situation...

 

[Eric]

May God bless her. My hopes and prayers are with her and family. Will spread the word wherever I can.

 

[swimjenni]

Good Luck! I'm not Filipino so I'm out but if I see someone that is I'll tell them. It will all work out fine, just keep your head up. My prayers are with you and your family.

 

[Dave_Z]

Apollo, I've numerous relatives there. I'll let them know and hopefully one of
them will be the answer to your loved ones' prayers!

 

[Michelle]

No words I can find only I will pray