Do It For Lois

Some of you are new here, and maybe even new to the world of Down syndrome. Welcome to my world. Down syndrome certainly doesn't rule my life, but with two kids with DS in the house, it's certainly a huge part of it.

If you are new here, there are lots of things you can learn on my blog about DS. You can learn that our kids with DS are just like your kids. They laugh, they cry, their feelings get hurt, and they love.

They can also get sick.

One of strange little things about DS is that our kids have a higher than normal incidence of developing leukemia, usually AML or ALL. Another interesting fact is that kids with DS have a higher CURE rate than typical kids! I know...strange isn't it?

I hate this. I hate when one of my online friends posts about some strange symptoms their child is having. I get goosebumps as I plead with God, "Please God! NO! Not THIS CHILD!! PLEASE! PLEASE LET THIS CHILD BEAT THIS DISEASE!!!!!"

And I DO know many kids who have done just that. They have beaten the monster that is Cancer. My very good friend Ann's son John is one of them. He was diagnosed with ALL when he was 2 1/2, and he's 8 now. EIGHT! Like many families they had a big "End of Chemo" party and everything. (which I had to miss for some reason.)

Then there are the families who have had to say goodbye to their kids. There are too many. And every time a child is lost, our community is rocked. It's a small world, this world of Down syndrome.

But sometimes none of the cancer-fighting drugs work well enough, leaving only one more possibility to save them; a bone marrow transplant. Sometimes a family member is a match and can donate his or her bone marrow, but sometimes the only option is to find a donor from the National Bone Marrow Registry.

Lois is one of those kids, along with her good friend who also has DS and is 21 years old. He has just relapsed with ALL and a bone marrow transplant is now his only option.

In this season of giving, what can be better than the gift of life? Please go to bethematch.org and order a registration kit. Maybe you'll be a match for Lois, or her friend, or your neighbor's child...or your own.