[Jewish] You could help save a life--please read

Fri Dec 7 17:33:32 EST 2018

Wow Ellen - thank you for sending this. It’s realky wonderful to hear from
you too - happy Chanukah. I’m interested in helping out even from a far -
I’m in no shape to donate but I’d be happy to spread word, if you can give
me a bit more detail on how to do that.

It’s also strange timing because I never thought I’d be saying this, but
things have become very difficult with this surgically caused Fistula I’ve
been managing since 2012, and now we’re at the point where I have to
actually look into multivisceral organ transplants. Part of this includes
intestines, which is still relatively new transplant-wise.
Anyway, not entirely sure why I’m writing to you about this, but I take
everything as a sign! I also know very little about the world  of
transplants and I’d like to connect more with that community. I’d love to
help out with this if there’s a way I can. Also, if you have any
suggestions for me, please do let me know! It’d be great to chat on the
phone if you ever had time!

Best,

Amy Oestreicher
2032094948.

On Thu, Dec 6, 2018 at 12:22 PM ellen bernstein <ellen.bernstein at comcast.net>
wrote:

> Dear JSUniks,
>  A fabulous Jewish Hampshire alum needs your help to help her daughter who
> is suffering from a rare genetic disease. The full message from alum Rachel
> Gratz-Lazarus is posted below.  Rachel is hoping one or more of you can
> help start a registration drive (next semester) at Hampshire--to register
> as many students as possible (particularly those of Ashkenazi Jewish
> descent) * to become bone marrow donors *(just take a cheek swab).  If
>  you have any interest in helping out, Professor Laura Week would love to
> work with you.
>
> Actually being a donor--if one is a match—is a more involved process—yet
> one that could save a life.
>
> Please read Rachel’s full note posted below so you can get the whole story.
>
> This site discusses what is entailed in the drive
>
>
> https://www.norahneedsyou.com/donate?fbclid=IwAR09ElmlHuD0kORIEpr16njSjAat48cB9FRLmnWtruWHSTzIrG4liuTJGF4
>
> Please be in touch with me if you have any interest in this.
>
> With gratitude,
> Ellen
>
>
>
> Ok friends, this is really hard, but here goes:
>
> Last month our 4-year old daughter Norah was diagnosed with a rare genetic
> disease called Fanconi Anemia (FA). FA, in essence, interferes with the
> body's ability to properly repair its DNA, and increases sensitivity to
> radiation. This puts Norah at high risk for a variety of cancers -- the
> greatest risk in the coming years being leukemia. If untreated, 90% of FA
> patients develop leukemia and/or bone marrow failure. Currently, the only
> known treatment to prevent leukemia is a bone marrow transplant.
>
> We are grateful that Norah is currently healthy. She is the same bouncy,
> imaginative and head-strong little lady she has always been. However,
> Norah's doctors are preparing us for the need to do a bone marrow
> transplant in the next few years. Should her situation worsen, she will be
> in immediate need of a bone marrow donor with an exact match in order to
> make sure that the procedure is successful.
>
> While finding an exact bone marrow match is difficult, the likelihood of a
> match increases substantially among ancestral lines, and for Norah this
> means we are looking primarily for a donor with Jewish Ashkenazi (Eastern
> European) ancestry.
>
> However, we are also determined to increase the pool of potential bone
> marrow donors in the registry for all those in need of a transplant (a lack
> of diverse donors, and mixed-race donors in particular, contributes to
> health inequities).
>
> Zach and I are launching a campaign to recruit 10,000 people between the
> ages of 18-44 to join the national bone marrow donor registry to help save
> our daughter's life and others in need of a transplant. We have created the
> website www.NorahNeedsYou.com
> <http://www.norahneedsyou.com/?fbclid=IwAR16LwLhFXlF-qNyj-Y6zlZGHIEr9Jl2cFJQzSE_LHo5M96ouAYHMtjwdpc> to
> share more and offer options for how to help. Please visit and share!
>
> How can you help?
>
> 1. Register here if you are between 18-44:
> http://join.bethematch.org/SwabforNorah
> <https://join.bethematch.org/SwabforNorah?fbclid=IwAR1mBJgkKLLcJVwYPLf1hQKnsmXCixO1_dPSdH0Jmm3zylr8RW-Nwg3NFpU>.
> Registering is an easy process that involves completing a quick 6-minute
> online form and doing a simple painless cheek swab a few days later when
> the swab kit arrives at your home. If a person is found to be a match, and
> willing/able to donate, the donor procedure is very low-risk (contrary to
> common perceptions) and the benefits are literally life-saving.
>
> 2. Like & Share the Norah Needs You FB Page:
> www.facebook.com/NorahNeedsYouand encourage others to register
>
> 3. Email your network and encourage at least 10 people in your community
> to register (sample email on website:
> https://www.norahneedsyou.com/sample-email
> <https://www.norahneedsyou.com/sample-email?fbclid=IwAR1BBDsDv9hhOsLxRVb_AtKAoj2nBlHxPmPBGYwFTe_i2kdbXegxaODf9Ec>
> )
>
> 4. Host a drive (visit our website to learn how:
> https://www.norahneedsyou.com/donate
> <https://www.norahneedsyou.com/donate?fbclid=IwAR09ElmlHuD0kORIEpr16njSjAat48cB9FRLmnWtruWHSTzIrG4liuTJGF4>
>  )
>
> 5. Donate to the Fanconi Anemia Research Fund to help find a cure:
> https://fundraise.fanconi.org/give/160689/…
> <https://fundraise.fanconi.org/give/160689/?fbclid=IwAR3iAz_gSAQ1s4f9_6OYJFGcZvAhNC2pnuMCgRnhs0OZahG9hVpo6hcYy4Y#!/donation/checkout>
>
> We love Norah with all of our hearts. She’s our tap dancer. Our joke
> teller. Our goofy bookworm. And, as you can imagine, we are holding a lot
> right now. We are heartbroken, we are scared. We are also hopeful and
> determined to make this okay. We are grateful for your love and support of
> our family - it means the world to us.
>
> ____________________________________
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Jewish mailing list
> Jewish at lists.hampshire.edu
> https://lists.hampshire.edu/mailman/listinfo/jewish

-- 

*Amy Oestreicher*

* www.amyoes.com <http://www.amyoes.com/>*

*Actress, Artist, Playwright,  Author*

**Celebrating Life's Beautiful Detours Through the Arts"*
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.hampshire.edu/pipermail/jewish/attachments/20181207/fe7718df/attachment-0001.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: _.png
Type: image/png
Size: 770378 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://lists.hampshire.edu/pipermail/jewish/attachments/20181207/fe7718df/attachment-0001.png>