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Karli's Story  Like many teenage girls, Karli can often be
found with her cell phone glued to her hand, but it wasn’t that
long ago when seemingly typical teen was in the fight of her
life.In October 2010 Karli felt a lump in her leg. She and her family through it was just a pulled muscle, but when the lump didn’t fade her parents took her to the doctor where Karli was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a cancerous bone tumor. Though she was just ten years old Karli says she wasn’t sacred because being scared would just make things worse. Karli spent the next few months in and out of the hospital undergoing chemotherapy and receieving multiple blood and platelet transfusions. Dr. Robert Sutphin is a Pediatric Hematology Oncologist at Arnold Palmer Hospital in Orlando. He says, “Having Florida’s Blood Centers available for the treatment of cancers is vitally important. Blood transfusions are an important part of what we do and it allows the children to resume a normal lifestyle. It allows us to bring their blood levels up to safe levels for additional chemotherapy which is the real important part of their therapy.” Karli says the blood and platelets from donors helped her feel better during the course of her treatment. She says, “People don’t understand like just how much it makes you feel better. You’ll be lightheaded and nauseous and just feel really grubby and then once you get the infusion you feel just like normal.” Karli is doing much better today. She’s 13 years old and will be a freshman in high school soon. Her father is spearheading the 2012 Central Florida Hotel and Lodging Associations Summer Challenge Blood Drive to help other patients going through the same experience as his daughter. Watch Video Mike's Story  Mike Myers loves taking care of his
granddaughters and watching them grow up. This retiree spent years
working for an airline before joining Florida’s Blood Centers as a
recruiter. As a recruiter Mike practiced what he preached. He
wanted to give at least 30 gallons of blood, but when he was just a
gallon shy of that goal he got sick during a company awards
ceremony. He looked pale and began sweating profusely, so his
co-workers insisted he go to the hospital.After undergoing a battery of tests Myers learned that he had two blocked arteries and needed triple bypass surgery. Shortly after that operation Myers went from being a blood donor to a blood recipient. Myers was on the road to recovery and was starting to get back into the swing of things when illness struck again. He said, “I woke up in the middle of the night about 2:30 in the morning…heart pounding out of my chest, difficulty breathing, so I went to the hospital because we thought it was my heart again and it wasn’t…I was in the hospital for 11 days and they did a bunch of tests and that’s when we found out that I had pulmonary fibrosis.” Pulmonary fibrosis is scarring or thickening of the lungs and most patients are only given about two to five years to live. Myers says he takes it day by day relying on his faith to get him through. Myers received blood for a second time in the Fall of 2011 after learning he had lost 30% of the blood in his body. He says, “I felt like I was 20 years old again, so I got a total of four units and thank God, if I hadn’t had those units of blood I don’t think I’d be here today.” That’s why Myers encourages everyone to get out and donate blood. A blood drive will be held on Sunday, January 8, 2012 at Center Point Church in Palm Bay from 8am-1pm in honor of Myers. Book an appointment Watch video Daniel's Story  When Daniel Stephens was born several
weeks premature, doctors told his parents he wouldn’t live through
the night. His parents were devastated. When he survived until
morning, the doctors said he won’t make it a week. When he survived
a week and then a month, doctors said his maximum life-span would
be 18 months.Once again, Daniel beat the odds. Today, Daniel is a happy young man who loves video games and playing basketball. He’s also getting ready to celebrate his 12th birthday. Daniel suffers from scoliosis as well as kyphosis, which means his spine twists and turns and curves at the top. Daniel’s been in the operating room 28 times, mostly for back surgery to lengthen his growing rods. If they can’t stop the progression of the spinal conditions Daniel will eventually suffocate. Daniel’s family and friends say he’s truly a miracle child and that’s why Tailored Foam in Sanford decided to celebrate his 12th birthday by hosting a blood drive in his honor. Daniel’s mother, Dawn Stephens says, “Daniel was like what, that’s for me? He was so excited and just tickled that they would actually give blood that he could one day use, if he has his surgery coming up in December. He was so excited that people loved him that much.” So far, Daniel’s only needed a plasma transfusion, but his family is grateful to blood donors who ensure that there is blood on hand in case Daniel needs it during a procedure. Watch Video Katie's Story  Like many five-year-old girls, Katie Begin
loves playing on her swing, practicing ballet and hosting tea
parties for her stuffed animals, but when she plays hospital it’s
much more than make believe.Unfortunately, Katie is very familiar with hospitals. Doctors diagnosed her with aplastic anemia back in March of 2011 and she’s been in and out of medical facilities ever since. Aplastic anemia is a rare disorder in which the bone marrow doesn’t produce sufficient new cells to replenish blood cells. Her father Joseph Begin says, “I think as a dad with your little girl the first thing you want to do is….I need to fix this because I’m a dad it’s my job to fix this and I couldn’t….it was too big for me. I didn’t know how to fix it and then I thought well the doctors will know how to fix it…it’s okay…so she has aplastic anemia…give her whatever medicine she needs and we’ll get better and it’s not that easy.” Katie spent weeks in the hospital undergoing immunosuppressant therapy and receiving multiple blood and platelet transfusions. Joseph says, “Every time those nurses come in with that blood or those platelets…I thank God for those people that took the time to go down there and do that. They don’t know Katie…they’re just going down out of the generosity of their heart and just doing this and they don’t realize that they saved this little girl’s life.” Katie still sees a doctor once a week, but she’s doing a lot better today. Though she hasn’t received a blood or platelet transfusion in a while, her family knows there may be more in the future and they are grateful to donors who literally gave Katie the gift of life. Watch Video Denali's Story  As ten-year-old Denali Botolino plays
with his brother and sisters along the beaches of Palm Beach County
it’s evident that he’s not the same child he used to be.Denali’s mother, Donatella Botolino, said, “His personality has completely changed; He’s definitely not as outgoing as he used to be. Unfortunately, the poor baby hates his appearance. He hates that he’s bald.” His father, Ricky Botolino, says, “He’s not the same little boy he was. He doesn’t go to school every day. He……..it’s just taken everything away from him. His childhood. His innocence. His everything…stuff kids shouldn’t even have to worry about, he worries about. Stuff adults shouldn’t have to worry about-he worries about.” 19 months ago Denali’s mother noticed that he started turning yellow. Everything from his skin tone to the whites of his eyes were a shade of yellow. Doctors thought he had hepatitis and told his mother that the disease would have to run its course. After a week Denali appeared to be getting worse, so his mother took him to the hospital where they discovered a mass in his abdomen. That mass turned out to be pancreatic cancer. Denali spent two months in the hospital undergoing chemotherapy in the hopes it would shrink the tumor enough to where it could be surgically removed. He needed massive doses of blood and platelets to sustain life during treatment. Once the tumor was removed Denali seemed to be doing better. Even the residual tumor appeared to be responding to treatment. However, in May of 2011 the cancer came back and this time it spread. Denali is once again undergoing chemotherapy and awaiting surgery. His family is holding a fundraiser and blood drive in Denali’s honor in conjunction with Florida's Blood Centers on October 8 at Dwight D. Eisenhower Elementary School in Palm Beach Gardens from 10am-4pm. Watch Video Donate in Honor of Tatum  I’ve met a lot of courageous children over
the past year, but five-year-old Tatum Cempella will truly melt
your heart. She is one of the most energetic and outgoing
little girls I’ve ever met. When she answered the door I told
her it was cool that we were both wearing pink tops and white
skirts. She looked at me and explained that she is very
fashionable.Fashionable may be a big word for most five-year-olds, but Tatum knows a whole string of words most kids her age have never heard of, including platelets, chemotherapy and leukemia. Approximately three years ago, Tatum and her mother, Melissa, spent the day at Sea World playing with the dolphins when red spots appeared on Tatum’s hands. She made a mental note to ask the doctor about the redness during Tatum’s check-up at the pediatrician’s office the next day. She figured Tatum suffered from pitikia, which is bleeding under the skin, but when Tatum’s blood test’s came back, their lives changed forever. Tatum had leukemia. Doctors admitted Tatum to the hospital where she began chemotherapy. Tatum calls the blood and platelets she received during treatment red and white snakes. She says she knew the red snake was blood, but she wasn’t too sure what the white snake was because she was only two-years-old at the time. Melissa says, “After she would get the blood transfusion she would perk up immediately. It really made a difference and she just had more energy and her color looked great and you could tell the difference within hours.” Losing her hair was traumatic for Tatum. Melissa says Tatum had to wear really fancy dresses all the time because she wanted people to know that she was a girl. She recalls a trip to Disney World when Tatum asked her to buy her a Snow White Princess dress and she said no because it was expensive. Tatum looked at her and said she wanted the dress because she was ugly without hair and nobody would know she was girl. Needless to say, Tatum got the dress. Watch Video Teen Credits FBC for Saving His Life  Kurt and Jacob Prosser have been a close
father/son team since Jacob was a little boy. They enjoy spending
time together and playing games, but of all the things they have in
common they never imagined a life-threatening
illness would be one of them.When Jacob turned 16 he wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps by being a blood donor because his father hadn’t been able to donate since he was diagnosed with cancer back in 2005. He was excited to board the Big Red Bus at Atlantic High School, but when he attempted to donate, a phlebotomist discovered that Jacob’s hemoglobin levels were extremely low. Jacob was deferred from donating and referred to his family physician. At first, doctors thought Jacob was suffering from anemia and recommended a high iron diet as well as supplements, but his condition got worse. Jacob was eventually rushed to the hospital and diagnosed with aplastic anemia, a condition in which the bone marrow does not produce sufficient new cells to replace blood cells. He spent the next seven months undergoing aggressive chemotherapy, fighting for his life in the hospital. He received about 80 blood and platelet transfusions to help him get through treamtment. Kurt said, “There were a couple of times when I had thoughts of having to bury my son…..and for any parent to have to go through that is very difficult…you just wish it was you instead.” Fortunately, the treatment worked and Jacob is now a senior in high school. He credits Florida’s Blood Centers for saving his life by catching his condition early and is grateful to blood donors who literally gave him the gift of life. “They really are heroes. They do a great thing. They’re probably not thinking about it and you know, there are other people who’ve been touched by blood transfusions or even the donors themselves have gotten transfusions. There needs to be a lot more people who donate because I know I got a lot of blood and there are a lot of people that get blood,” Jacob said. Watch video Enzo's Story  Like many three-year-old boys, Enzo Grande
is normally a bundle of energy. He enjoys riding his bike and
playing with his twin sister, Larissa.When he began feeling tired and looking pale his parents knew something was wrong. They thought it was a virus and took him to an urgent care facility. What they thought would be a quick trip to the doctor turned into a night that would change their lives forever. His mother Elaine Grande says, “I fell to the floor and was in complete shock. You know we went from a virus to anemia to leukemia. It was just a whirlwind within a 10 hour span.” “You know they say you hear cancer and you just die and we basically died for a little while until today, until we’re sitting here today,” said his father Vincenzo Grande. Little Enzo spent the next two weeks at Arnold Palmer Hospital in Orlando. He needed multiple blood transfusions just to get his levels up to a place where he could begin receiving chemotherapy. Enzo is in the beginning stages of treatment and may need more blood transfusions as he fights the disease. His parents admit that donating blood wasn’t at the top of their list of things to do before their son ended up being a recipient. “You get lost in the world and you’re just-go at your own pace, but when your life gets halted like this and you need those blood donations and people that you don’t even know are sitting there for an hour, getting the blood taken out, you really don’t know how much you are helping someone,” Elaine said. Now the Grande family encourages everyone to roll up their sleeves and give the gift of life because they see firsthand how blood donors are impacting the life of their child. Watch Enzo’s story Hudson's Story  Surrounded by wires, pumps and machines,
newborn Hudson Turner struggles to survive inside the neonatal
intensive care unit. Doctors diagnosed Hudson with hypoplastic left
heart syndrome three weeks before he was born. His parents
were devastated. They knew he’d have a tough road ahead of him and
when doctors said he’d need a heart transplant it was another blow
to their hearts.Hudson spent five months waiting on a heart and underwent two open heart surgeries in the meantime. He needed multiple units of blood in the process, but when he finally did get his heart transplant he was too sick to pull through. Though he ended up passing away, his family is grateful to blood donors because they allowed Hudson to spend five months with his family. His mother Brooke said, “It meant the world. That 5 ½ months is all we had…we never took him home. He stayed in the hospital. Without it I never would have known my son so it means a lot that he was able to live at least 5 ½ months.” Hudson’s father, Luke, had been a blood donor for years, but his situation inspired Brooke to also roll up her sleeve and give the gift of life to other children who may be in the hospital right now. She says, “I hope that people will understand that it doesn’t hurt to give blood. It doesn’t take that much time and that you’re saving a life and giving someone that short amount of time that they have with their child.” A lot has changed since Hudson’s passing. The Turners had another child, Holden, and they moved to Florida where Luke took a job at Gatorland. As they maneuver through the wildlife at Gatorland, the Turners know a member of their family is missing, but they keep his spirit alive by giving life to others in his honor. Watch Video Kenny's Story 
17-year-old Kenny Conidaris grew up along the sands of the Lani Kai Beach Resort in Fort Myers. He loves the sun and the surf and can often be seen jet skiing in the emerald green waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Kenny cherishes every moment of sunshine because his life used to be filled with countless doctors visits, lengthy hospital stays and numerous blood transfusions. Kenny suffers from aplastic anemia. It’s a rare condition in which the body doesn’t produce enough red blood cells. He was diagnosed at the age of 12. Kenny relied on a horse serum as well as blood and platelets to sustain life. When I caught up with Kenny and his family on the beach behind the resort he told me that he remembers being exhausted and suffered unexplained bruising before being diagnosed with the disease. His mother Kathy Conidaris says, ““I was horrified. I didn’t know if he was going to live or die. I was scared. I was confused. I was upset. I was angry.” Kenny is currently in remission. However, his only shot at a cure is a bone marrow transplant, but to this day; doctors have not been able to find a matching donor. That’s why his family hosts a blood and bone marrow drive every year at the Lani Kai Resort. Kathy says, “It’s Kenny’s way of giving back. He wants to give back to the community and so does my family because if it wasn’t for everybody that does donate and everything then we wouldn’t be here today saying this. Kenny wouldn’t be here in his great remission that he is. We do want to give back to the community to help other people and help other people stay alive, just like the community did for us at one point.” Thanks to donors in the Fort Myers community Kenny recently graduated high school and looks forward to attending college and studying to be an EMT. Though his life seems right on track, Kenny and his family fear a relapse may occur and they hope to have a bone marrow match in their back pocket, just in case he needs a bone marrow transplant in the future. The Fifth Annual Kenny Conidaris Blood Drive is scheduled for July 16, 2011 at the Lani Kai Resort. Learn More. Watch Video HERE |
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