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Eunique’s Story by Enid Darby, mother Supervisor, Syracuse University Law Library

When my daughter, Eunique, had her second cancer relapse in February, we knew that a bone marrow transplant was her best hope for a cure. Recently, my family and I walked into Weiskotten Hall* and into a room packed with medical students, staff from the Center for Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders, and other Upstate employees, all gathered to help organize bone marrow drives at SUNY Upstate. We are grateful to them and to all the people who have reached out to help us find a marrow donor for Eunique: the Southwest Community Center, Phi Beta Sigma fraternity and the National Society of Black Engineers at Syracuse University, the House of God Church, the William G. Pomeroy Foundation, and, especially, Helen Hudson and the Mothers Against Gun Violence. It will take six to eight weeks for the National Marrow Donor Program to process the tissue samples to find out if any of these generous people are matches for Eunique, Edward or any of the thousands of patients in U.S. in need of bone marrow transplants. While we wait, all I can say is, ’Thank you.’

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Edward’s Story by Sandra Hudson PhD, Research Assistant Professor Department of Radiation Oncology, SUNY Upstate Medical University

I wish I could donate my bone marrow to Edward, but matches are found among people who share the same ethnic heritage.

I met Edward 12 years ago, on what would have been my late son Michael’s next birthday. That day, I purchased a toy, and visited our Center for Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders and asked if there was a patient who would like a brand new remote-control toy motorcycle. The staff introduced me to Edward, who had just been diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the same condition that, months earlier, had taken my son. Edward smiled, and I knew immediately that this was the beginning of a new relationship. Since that day, Edward has been an important part of my life. He has been living with my husband and me for the past two years in order to finish school, and he will graduate from Baker High School in Baldwinsville this June. He is planning to attend college to pursue a career in nursing. He wants to provide the same kind of compassionate care that he has received at the hospital during his own treatment. When Edward’s leukemia returned in 2004, it required two more years of chemotherapy to put him in remission again. Recently, we found out that Edward has relapsed a second time. A bone marrow transplant is now his best chance for a cure. Someone out there can provide this opportunity to Edward. In order to find that person, he or she will need to be tested and enter the marrow registry.

The Gift of Life Campaign
c/o The William G. Pomeroy Foundation
P.O. Box 3327 • Syracuse, NY 13220
(315) 476-3000, ext. 2576 • info@giftoflifeonline.com