Recently I received a letter from one of our regular readers. As you read the words in her note, think of how you might be the prize that someone is looking for.

Dear Mr. Kirwan:

I am an avid reader of your column in the Vision Paper. You provide your readers with many thought-provoking and inspirational messages. Your words of wisdom always touch home.

I am writing to ask for your assistance. My 3 ½ year old nephew in Timmins has recently been diagnosed with a very rare disease called Dyskeratosis Congenita and is in need of a bone marrow transplant.

I have enclosed a letter I wrote one morning at 2 a.m. If you feel it is worth publishing, perhaps it will encourage others to get tested as a possible bone marrow donor and get added to the bone marrow registry.

Signed: Monique Van Alphen

Dear Monique:

Thank you for your letter. I hope it inspires our readers and I hope your nephew gets the bone marrow he needs.

What I Need Is Worth More Than Your Weight In Gold...But Won’t Cost You A Dime

by Monique Van Alphen

“Just Imagine” the feeling you would get knowing the difference you have made...saving somebody’s life. It would truly be the “draw” of a lifetime, “beating the odds” and holding the “winning combination”!

With the recent news of the two most recent lottery winners, a thought occurred to me. As much as it would be nice to become an instant millionaire, it would not change the journey my nephew, Luc is on. It could not “buy” him a chance at life. You see, Luc needs a bone marrow transplant and he needs it soon.

Every day people across the province purchase a chance of “winning the lottery” and most remain losers. Yet a “quick pick” (referring to a simple blood sample) can make you an “Instant winner”. “Just imagine the freedom” that a lucky person can have if you “match six out of six”. Only the prize in this case is the life of the person receiving your bone marrow donation. And there will always be two winners - the recipient of the donation and the donor, knowing that he/she saved another person’s life!

I urge you all to please give Luc and others like him a “winning chance”. Help him “beat the odds”. You could be the “one in a million” to help him live a long and happy life that he so much deserves.

I thank Monique Van Alphen for helping us realize that we all have the gift of life within us and we can all offer that gift to others. More than six million people around the world have been tested and are on the bone marrow registry. Testing requires a regular blood test which is screened and sorted by typing to find the six (6) genes required for a perfect match. There is a 60% chance that a compatible donor will be found for Luc. After finding the donor, Luc faces six weeks of critical care where he will receive chemotherapy, radiation and then the transplant. That is followed by another five months of post-operative recovery and observation to see if his body accepts the marrow.

So as you can see, Luc’s family still faces many hurdles as they try to prolong Luc’s life. The least we can do is get tested and have our name placed on the registry so that Luc and all the rest of the Luc’s with this disease can have some hope of survival.

If you are between the ages of 17 and 59, and if you are interested in joining the Unrelated Bone Marrow Donor Registry, contact the Canadian Blood Services at 1-877-366-6717.