As strange as this may come across, yesterday was the best Valentine’s Day I have ever had. What made it so special? A couple of things. One, I was with two of my best friends in the world whom I love dearly and love more than I ever take the time to tell them. Two, we went to donate our platelets yesterday to a dear friend who was recently diagnosed with Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma.
Our friend, Maryann, is at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. There are no better hands she could possibly be in. A complication of her cancer is that she has immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). Literally, her body is attacking her platelets as if they are foreign cells. She has had many platelet transfusions but still requires more. I have never given blood or platelets before. Not because I’m somehow against it or can’t give, but mostly because I had a slightly traumatic dealing with hospitals and needles at a very young age (but that’s a story for another day). When the hospital said we need to get donations for Maryann I didn’t hesitate to make my appointment. My traumatic experience be damned, a few hours of discomfort I might have could NEVER compare to what Maryann is going through. I was glad and happy to do it and I’d do it again in a heartbeat however many times she needs. Unfortunately for me, I was unable to complete the process of giving platelets or blood. The nurses tried, but my veins just wouldn’t cooperate. Fortunately for Maryann, I was the only one with that issue and as of last night she has two new bags of platelets coming her way from people who love her dearly!
I pray daily for a speedy and quick recovery for her. Between that and attempting to donate platelets it’s really the only thing I can do (considering I’m not a doctor or fairy Godmother who could just take this all away from her!) I have friends who have never even met Maryann but as soon as I mentioned her situation they immediately made appointments to donate platelets and/or passed the information on to their coworkers, family and friends to get even more donations for her. It’s been overwhelming to see the response of how people can really come together and rally around someone in a time of need.
In the last few years cancer has touched one too many people I love. For far too long it always felt to me like something that happened to others. Quite recently it’s become all too real to me how cancer does not care about your race, age, gender, social status, or monetary status. It touches us all in one way or another at one time in our life or another. I can only do what I can to help my friend and I can only pray that one day those super smart minds in the research facilities can come up with a cure to ALL types of cancers.
If you would like to donate platelets on Maryann’s behalf, please call 212-639-7648 or visit http://www.mskcc.org/giving/blood. When making the appointment please specify it will be a platelet donation and on behalf of Maryann Adesso.
For more information on lymphoma, please visit http://www.lls.org/.
Our friend, Maryann, is at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. There are no better hands she could possibly be in. A complication of her cancer is that she has immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). Literally, her body is attacking her platelets as if they are foreign cells. She has had many platelet transfusions but still requires more. I have never given blood or platelets before. Not because I’m somehow against it or can’t give, but mostly because I had a slightly traumatic dealing with hospitals and needles at a very young age (but that’s a story for another day). When the hospital said we need to get donations for Maryann I didn’t hesitate to make my appointment. My traumatic experience be damned, a few hours of discomfort I might have could NEVER compare to what Maryann is going through. I was glad and happy to do it and I’d do it again in a heartbeat however many times she needs. Unfortunately for me, I was unable to complete the process of giving platelets or blood. The nurses tried, but my veins just wouldn’t cooperate. Fortunately for Maryann, I was the only one with that issue and as of last night she has two new bags of platelets coming her way from people who love her dearly!
I pray daily for a speedy and quick recovery for her. Between that and attempting to donate platelets it’s really the only thing I can do (considering I’m not a doctor or fairy Godmother who could just take this all away from her!) I have friends who have never even met Maryann but as soon as I mentioned her situation they immediately made appointments to donate platelets and/or passed the information on to their coworkers, family and friends to get even more donations for her. It’s been overwhelming to see the response of how people can really come together and rally around someone in a time of need.
In the last few years cancer has touched one too many people I love. For far too long it always felt to me like something that happened to others. Quite recently it’s become all too real to me how cancer does not care about your race, age, gender, social status, or monetary status. It touches us all in one way or another at one time in our life or another. I can only do what I can to help my friend and I can only pray that one day those super smart minds in the research facilities can come up with a cure to ALL types of cancers.
If you would like to donate platelets on Maryann’s behalf, please call 212-639-7648 or visit http://www.mskcc.org/giving/blood. When making the appointment please specify it will be a platelet donation and on behalf of Maryann Adesso.
For more information on lymphoma, please visit http://www.lls.org/.
AGREED! Best Valentine's DAy ever!
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