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:

 

[rcep]

i think i can offer help
ive pmed armstrong

 

[kev]

gd luck to all concerned.

it is tough for everyone involved. my family has been ravaged by cancer over the years as my wee sister was only 3 when she had blood cancer (leukaemia) and my mum found a lump on her breast only last week and it turned out it wasnt cancerous :tu:

Stay strong mate

 

[Kenny]

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. These 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.

"Yesterday is history, tomorrow's a mystery, today is a gift, that's why it's called the present."
-unknown

 

[Janine]

How's Christine ?
Hope she's okay now.

 

[B33R]

Update: July 16, 2006

From a friend: I just spoke with Christine and she wants to let everyone know that she is hanging in there. She knows everyone has been wondering how she is doing and wishes she could write, but feels too nauseous to do so. She said that the doctors are concerned about her liver. The marrow has not grafted yet, and her counts are still at zero. With all that said, the doctors are impressed that she is not having the throat problems that most patients experience and that she is able to talk so well. Often times patients can't even speak. Christine's voice was tired, but strong. She told the doctors that she thinks this is because of all the prayers and good thoughts coming her way from all of her friends and family.

From a friend: Just talked to Mrs. Pechera. She said Christine is hanging in there, but it is hard. Has aches, pain, trembling hands, etc. We probably won't know if the marrow is grafting for another week or so.

From a friend: Just spoke with Christine for 7 seconds. I did not want to drain her energy. She says she has no energy - tremendous fatigue. She continues to fight but is "stable" as can be at the moment. Keep praying and sending positive energy.

 

[Zhang]

I live near Odessa/Midland, Texas and work in the hospitals there as a contract nurse. I will definately tell my friends there. I wish her well.

 

[betaisbetta]

God Bless

God Bless

 

[domainerguy]

God Bless

Good luck, God bless.

 

[B33R]

Update: July 19, 2006 from http://christine.site.ph/_mgxroot/page_10805.html


Hi Folks,

My Husband Danny and I visited Christine last night. She was more tired than last time but still smiling. We sat on the desk in front of the window and made-out eerily with the glass and she had a good laugh so we kept going. Dan is particularly good at that. Christine loves her new volcano poster in her room. She says friends are sending all kinds of symbolic gifts that involve fire or dragons to inspire the fight.

I asked her directly about how the transplant is going and she said that the doctors have told her that her "Count", which I understand to be a bone marrow or cell count, as of yesterday, day 13, is still at 0. Which means that the transplanted marrow has not been grafting yet. The docs said it must graft in the next couple days in order for - as I understand it - the transplant to have worked. The time for prayer about her grafting is now. She told me she didn't want to think about it. So, I guess I am writing all this so less people will ask her as I did? I didn't know about liver concerns at the time so I don't know the status. She did say it was okay to post these facts about her condition, though. She has not been looking at the site or her email because she is tired from the fighting. She wants her friends to know what is going on so they have a focus when they pray. She asked what I had posted before and seemed happy that I mentioned that people need to come visit her. She also wanted to say thank you again for the prayers and that she really believes this is why she is feeling much better than she could be - based on her last experience with this.

The best thing we can do right now is pray for the transplant to work and to visit her. She loves the pictures and posters. But, the best thing is just having people there to interact with, I think.

In a week or so, she moves into the village - which is the apartment like housing on the campus. She is looking forward to that. I'm not sure if at that point we can see her beyond the bubble or not. I hope this message helps to answer some more questions about her progress.

So great to visit with her! Just want her to come home now.

Love,
Colleen

 

[Kenny]

Thanks Rob. Keeping her in our thoughts, sending positive her way.

 

[B33R]

Update: July 21, 2006

From a friend: Hi Everyone! I went to see christine and she wanted me to let everyone know she was hanging in there. It has been hard though. Oh, she also wanted me to say that she misses everyone very much. She misses having human contact and being hugged. Lets all send her a virtual hug at once. Please visit her if you can, it really cheers her up and cuts up the time. I dont know if the marrow grafted yet, I was hoping to find out, but didnt want to ask christine. Some old friends chrisitine hasnt talked to in years saw her on nightline and tracked her down. Pretty exciting. Love to everyone, Jackie

 

[lemonybrainaid]

I'm not a religious person but My thoughts will be with her. God bless her.

Get well soon.

 

[B33R]

Update: July 23, 2006 (from a friend)


I know that I love hearing about people's visits with Christine, so I thought I would write about mine.

A few of us went to see her yesterday (day 17 of the transplant) and she looked beautiful and seemed to have more energy than I expected she would. Her room was by far the most decorated out of all of them - butterflies everywhere. In fact, I didn't even see any decorations on any others. She said that her appetite is very limited and that she will sometimes have a few bites of applesauce and feel full. That night, her mom was going to make her noodles in a kitchen at the City of Hope and she figured that she would only be able to eat a few spoonfuls. She told me that to get a "change of scenery" she slept with her head at the opposite end of the bed the night before!

We didn't really get any updates on the progress of the grafting, but we did find out that it needs to happen by day 21, which made us hopeful because we were all under the impression that the window had passed already. I know it's only a few more days, but every second counts.

Like everyone has said, it's a great idea to call before you go. It seems like the best way is to dial the main City of Hope number and ask the operator for Christine Pechera's nurses station and talk to them. Also, I recommend having a dance routine prepared as Christine did request some of my signature Michael Jackson dance moves and I basically folded under the pressure.

Brandy

 

[RyuKenLi]

Thank you for the updates.

 

[B33R]

Update: July 25, 2006

From A Friend:

I visited with Christine last night, and received a bit of positive news - her counts have risen very very slightly. As Christine says, this is nothing more but a small drop in the bucket, and since the movement upwards is so small, it is impossible to know whether this is a sign that the marrow is grafting. In addition, her counts are still very low overall, and so we all need to keep sending Christine our positive thoughts and prayers. Hopefully the combination of her incredible strength and our continued prayers will get her counts up and destroy this f-ing cancer for good.

Although Christine said she felt tired, she looked beautiful and strong (which is remarkable considering all she has been through), and we chatted through the glass for quite a while. As usual, she was curious about what was going on beyond the City of Hope walls, and we talked about the heat, fires, music, movies, etc, etc. We also talked about where we will go to eat when she is released (although she can't really eat much, she is craving buttered popcorn, thick steaks and fried bananas – what a combo!), what countries she will travel to, and how happy she will be when she can just hug someone once again. She told me that it is all of life's little pleasures - like feeling warm sunshine on her skin, holding hands, or indulging in a hot fudge sundae – that she misses the most right now.

In all, it was wonderful to see her and we had a great visit. Please do keep sending her your prayers and healing thoughts, and for those who are able, do try to visit with her. Like others have said, having friends come by breaks up the monotony of her days.

Let us all hope and pray that the bit of good news I received will be the beginning of a positive trend, and that her counts will continue to rise.

-Michelle


From a Friend:

Having had to put off a visit to see Christine for almost a month due to one sniffle or another, I finally made it in the late afternoon on Sunday.

Being in isolation is a real thrill. You come to know every inch of your cell, every noise and exactly what it is with time, and your internal clock knows when the bags will be changed and something new will be added.

The method of visiting was unique. It reminded me of an old Madonna video and an episode of NYPD Blue where the skell or pert was pumping quarters into the machine at the peep show. I dialed the number, the curtains parted, and Christine appears. For one who has been there, she looked great, was in good spirits, and gets exhausted by talking. I purposely didn't bring a great number of quarters.

We had a good chat about the annoyances that come with incarceration, the well intended things that make one want to scream, and the wait each day from the time of your early morning blood draw until they tell you your counts.

She was fully aware that she received male bone marrow and knows that the little marrows most probably are too proud to ask directions. But, she is confident, that necessity will trump ego and they will find their way to engraftment central. Being male, I absorbed her rather blatant criticism considering her condition.

She tired. That was clear. But, she had that smile. This was good.

She is in good hands and blessed by so many wonderful friends.

 

[B33R]

Update: July 28, 2006

From A Friend:

Hi Everyone,

We just talked to Jocelyn (Christine's sister) and got some better news. The doctors are trying to keep people cautiously optimistic, but Christine's blood counts have started to show some activity. On day 18 her count was 400 and on day 21 her count was up to 2000. These numbers do need to be much higher (in the millions), but since the numbers were ZERO for more than 2 weeks, this activity is a REALLY good sign. Continued prayers and well wishes are certainly welcome!

-Donna


From A Friend:

HI everyone,

I saw Christine yesterday and she seemed like she was doing much better. I talked to her on the phone before going and she sounded like her normal self again. It was great; night and day from the last few weeks.

She wanted me to say "hi" to everyone and let you know that she tried to type a message, but just didnt have the energy and had to stop. She will write as soon as she can.

She loves hearing news from "the outside" ...I had nothing. So if anyone has any stories...

Love to all,
Jackie


From A Friend:

I visited Christine last Tuesday 7/25 and I must say, she really did look great. Sure, she was kind of sleepy, but other than that she looked like she normally would if you woke her up early on a Sunday morning (I was there at 6pm, so no, I didn't actually wake her up). The window to her room is quite large, and very close to her bed so she doesn't feel that distant. But as other people have already said, she's only up for a 5-10 minute visit.

Christine said she received the DVDs people sent, but she still hasn't got the energy to actually stay awake long enough to watch for more than a few minutes before falling asleep.

The hospital is REALLY quiet. I didn't pass any other visitors in any of the halls. There were a few nurses scattered around the floor, but they were all just sitting around, chatting with each other. I've been to a slew of hospitals and I've never seen anything like it.

Jon

 

[Kenny]

Rob,

I want to personally thank you for keeping us informed on Christines condition.
You are a stand up kinda guy.

Peace,
Kenny

 

[dgridley]

Good to hear there is some positive news! Best wishes..

 

[B33R]

Update: July 30, 2006

Hey All - I stopped by and visited Christine Friday on my way up to the mountains. She asked me to pass on an update. Her count had actually come down a little, but that is to be expected. She will continue to take 2 steps forward and 1 step back. Friday was day 22, and she wanted me to tell you that on day 30 the doctors will do a battery of tests to determine how things are really going. The results of which will determine when she will move to the Village. Besides that she looked great. We had a great talk about skinny dipping in Lake Arrowhead. If it wasn't for the cold rainy weather up there this weekend I would have fulfilled her request to go skinny dipping in her honor. I think we can all take a little of Christine's spirit and live life to the fullest everyday. -Sharyn

 

[Rudy]

Thanks for keeping us updated, Rob. I appreciate it. I'm continuing to pray for a full recovery.

By the way, please continue to let us knoe - both Rob & Armstrong - how we can help. I know the financial burden that cancer causes, personally - even if insurance covers medecine, there's a LOT that it doesn't touch... so if we can help, please let us know.

 

[B33R]

Update: July 31, 2006 (from Julia)

Hello, everyone--

I went to go see Christine yesterday and am happy to report that she looked and sounded great. Traffic was light and City of Hope was pretty quiet; I highly recommend visiting on a Sunday. We got to chat for about 45 minutes. I ran into her mother in the elevator on the way in and once I introduced myself as Christine's friend, she immediately gave me a huge hug. What a great mom!

I don't have much info on what exactly is happening white cell count-wise, but I do know that she's been noticing a big difference in the last few days. Her energy is up and she even went outside the room one day. Yes, that's right, she actually left the bubble! Granted it was just an excruciatingly slow shuffle down the hallway but still. The funny thing was that apparently it gave her motion sickness--she's that unused to moving around a space larger than her room.

Another change is that she's starting to have enough energy and focus to read. It still exhausts her to do simple things like sitting up, but she seems to be in a good place. She's got a long way to go, but when I'm with her it's hard to believe that she's sick. She's full of more life and light than most of the people I know walking around. I know hospitals can be depressing and scary, but seeing Christine always makes me so happy. So go visit if you can! And bring snacks for the hardworking nurses who take care of her (I forgot to but won't forget again).

Keep up the good thoughts and the prayers!

julia

 

[B33R]

Update: August 1, 2006 - Day 27 - From Christine
From Christine's site - Link

Halleluiah! I'm online! A tech came into my room this afternoon and said "Congratulations, you have DSL!". Good timing, because it's only now that I feel strong enough to sit, focus, read and type, for a few minutes at a time, at least. There is still a long way to go but I am so thankful to have made it this far into the transplant. It's been a rough ride, but I'm SLOWLY getting better with each passing day.

Picture a boundary of a 15-yard radius surrounding your humble bed. Now imagine not going beyond that boundary for almost an entire summer. Yet, within that circle you experience one of the most remote and arduous of journeys, with 90% of the time not extending beyond center. It's been 36 days since the heavy doors of this hushed, sterile ward sealed off the aromatic chatter and pungent textures of the outside world. And each day has been draped with uncertainty, with Hope clinging to the yards with long arms.

The effulgence of life is so real here because death lingers so close. It would be too easy to describe the experience as "surreal", but the world inside the heavy doors does bear closer to a disjointed dream or stuff of placid nightmares. Except for the one hour when you are "unhooked" in order to take a shower, your heart is literally tethered to a pair of six (or seven?) foot long vertical poles on rolling casters, via catheter tubing from your chest. This is also known as the "IV tree", whence hangs a buffet of chemotherapy, narcotics, nutrient support, antibiotics, antifungals, antivirals, and antirejection drugs. Nurses and long-term patients share a special dark humor with each other to help cope with the daily activity of holding on. One of the running jokes is that you are "married" to the "IV Tree" for your entire stay. As a result, some people have taken to christening their trees with special names. Men, especially those under 40, call their trees the "mother-in- law" or simply "in-law". Women tend to be more whimsical, with "Antonio Banderas" or "George Clooney" being the popular guys to have by your side 24/7 while facing the day.

And with each day it is the tiny goals, the littlest of accomplishments that bring applause and tears: Going 24 hours without needing narcotic pain medication; Feeling well enough to raise your arms above your head; Regaining the ability to swallow food. Less than a week ago, I tested my strength and stamina by trying to stand in the shower. When I was finally able to stand for the entire five minutes, the nurse clapped and cheered and then sheepishly pumped her light-blue, non-latex glove in the air.

I love showering. Though the private bathroom is just five feet from my bed, the shower is only time I can "escape" from the bland heavy air of the hospital ward. The faucets turn, the hot water flows down, I close my eyes and suddenly I am covered in Plumeria lather in an outdoor shower on Maui; I am kayaking sea caves in the Meditterean; I am dancing in Virginia rain.

Four days ago, I was finally allowed to leave my room, covered in mask, gloves and isolation gown. I took a short walk in the morning and starting yesterday, I take another short walk in the evening. There are many stories in this hallway. Some tragic, some inspiring. There was the 3-year old girl and her mother who waved to me through the window. A year and a half ago the little toddler was fighting for her life . Three times her mother was told that her little girl would not make it through the night. Now the little girl smiles with cherubic cheeks, healthy. There is also Rodrigo, who had a transplant 28 years ago and now works as a BMT nurse to help others make it through.

Okay, there goes my energy... need to doze off for now. 27 Days Down. 73 more days to go before I can leave the hospital.

I can't believe it's August. Sending much much much love.

xo,
Christine

 

[creme]

that's awesome.

 

[Kenny]

Thanks Rob

 

[briman1970]

I've been praying for you Christine! I'm sure many others have been doing the same! Awesome to hear the update from you this time!