Give the gift of life to 8-year-old Madalyn and others!
I've worked on many medical stories and what always comes to the forefront is the constant need year round for donating blood. The good folks at Carter BloodCare are always ready to accept donations and will put it to good use among the many patients that need it. Here's a plea for donations from Richardson resident, Janean Wedge who sent this letter out to friends and others in hopes of getting donations for her 8-year-old niece, Madalyn at a drive scheduled for this Sunday. Read on to see how you can help Madalyn and other patients in dire need of blood. Patients like 3 other kiddos I just heard about this week fighting for their lives at Children's. This Saturday and Sunday, the Mavs and WFAA are hosting blood drives as well at Victory Park. Wherever you choose to donate, remember your donation will save lives.
Dear Friends,
My niece, Madalyn has been ill since the first week of December. My sister and her family were visiting family in Fort Worth when she became ill and was rushed to the hospital. She was admitted to Cook Children’s Hospital in Fort Worth on December 9 and was transferred to Children’s Medical Center here in Dallas this past Thursday. She has been diagnosed with a combination of 2 blood disorders that have been nicknamed “Madalyn’s syndrome” because the physicians at Cook had never seen this combination in any patients before. The official diagnosis is hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) and thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP). To make matters more complicated, Madalyn is not showing “typical” symptoms and is not responding to treatments in a traditionally “typical” manner. The reason for my email is to make a request. On an almost daily basis, Madalyn has been receiving red blood cell transfusions, fresh frozen plasma transfusions and is currently undergoing plasmapheresis at Children’s. While my sister and her husband have health insurance, blood products are not covered (the process of the transfusion is covered). This experience has also been an eye opener for our family as to the critical need for blood donors.
Here is my request…
We are in the process of coordinating a blood drive for Madalyn and would be most appreciative if you would consider making a donation for her. Madalyn will not actually receive your donation, but it will go into an account in her name which will help offset the costs (as well as provide the gift of life for some other family who is facing a horrible time). If you have never made a donation before, I promise you it is not difficult to do.
My other request is for prayer. Not only for Madalyn, but for my sister, her husband, and my nephew. This has been an incredibly difficult time for them. Madalyn has been able to come home for 1 or 2 nights at a time and luckily was released from the hospital on Christmas Eve in order to have Christmas morning at home so Santa Claus could come. She has been SO BRAVE during all of this and has kept her positive, sweet attitude. My nephew is too young to know everything that is going on, but he does know that he misses his sister and his mom. My mom has been doing an outstanding job of keeping him busy and entertained and he loves playing with our kids. Obviously, my sister and brother in law are exhausted, frustrated and very scared. Your prayers will help sustain them.
I appreciate the time you took to read this and your consideration in being a donor. We all will appreciate your prayers and support.
With love and thanks,
Janean
INFORMATION ON THE BLOOD DRIVE FOR MADALYN:
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration
14115 Hillcrest Road
NW corner of Spring Valley and Hillcrest
8:30 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.
Look for the Big Blue Bus in the parking lot.
Thank you!
INFORMATION ON MAVS AND WFAA BLOOD DRIVE:
To donate blood, a person must be in good health, be at least 17 years of age, and weigh 110 pounds or more. For more information, please call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE or log on to www.givelife.org, sponsor code RedBlueandYou.