Still Waiting...

Thank you to everyone who continues to lift our family up in prayer! The health of the bone marrow donor looks good, and now we are waiting on insurance and the final consent to be official!

We are so grateful that God brought us the donor when He did. Jodie's body was getting more tired and it was increasingly difficult to fight the many germs that surround her.

The amazing thing is that God knew all along what He had in store for Jodie. His timing is always perfect!! This donor did not come from one of our drives, as our first donors just got on the registry a few weeks ago. We are very mindful, now more than ever, that God is using our situation to help someone else in need.

As we have said before, there are still many patients searching. God was so gracious to us in bringing Jodie a perfect match within 2 months! Many patients have been searching for over 1 or 2 years.

Here are some of them:

Rohan Karer is an 18 month old boy who has a rare primary immune deficiency called X-linked Hyper IGM syndrome. The only permanent cure for this deficiency is a bone marrow transplant. Until Rohan receives this life saving transplant, he must go to the hospital every 3 weeks for IVIG infusions to build his immunities. This is in addition to the multiple times that he has been hospitalized fighting infections that couldn't be prevented using IVIG alone. Rohan's outside activities and interaction with others is limited in order to avoid exposing him to potential infections.

Maile Lamela (3) is half Filipino and half Mexican/Puerto Rican. In 2007 she was diagnosed with and infant form of Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL). She was able to reach remission through chemotherapy, but her leukemia relapsed in June 2008 and she is now in an urgent need for a marrow/stem cell transplant. Because she is mixed, it will make her search that much more difficult.

Jisong (15, Korean) from Queens, New York was diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML) in February 7, 2008. She is an active member of the Korean Catholic Church, the cross country team, swim team and her school orchestra.

In 1998, Wincheng organized a bone marrow drive, trying to save the life of a young Chinese American MIT undergrad. Now she needs your help to find her a match! On June 9, 2006, 26 year old Wincheng Lin was diagnosed with AUL, an extremely rare combination of AML and ALL with a tumor the size of a grapefruit in her chest. Although she is completing several rounds of chemotherapy, doctors believe this might not be enough. Due to the rare form of Leukemia she has, a bone marrow transplant is her best bet for a cure. Neither of Wincheng's two sisters are bone marrow matches for her. So far, no match has been found.

Zhonglin Li (37) and his wife Nianliu are from China. They came to the United States in 2001, and studied in the University of Arizona. On March 13, 2007, detailed blood and bone marrow test results confirmed that Zhonglin was suffering from acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). In the following months, Zhonglin received a course of initial chemotherapy and two courses of consolidation chemotherapy. He was in remission in July 2007. During this period, their second daughter was born in June 2007. Unfortunately, before long after the youngest daughter’s first birthday, in July 2008, they found out Zhonglin relapsed.

Many thanks on behalf of these patients and many more who may benefit from one of the Save Jodie Gee drives.

"I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds. Your ways, O God, are holy. What god is so great as our God? You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples." Psalm 77:11-14

Praying and BELIEVING,

JoAnn Wu