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Marrow
donor who saved boy's life offers others
same opportunity!
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Colin & Jackie
McLoon
"You're
my guardian angel!' - Colin Bauman, 10 years
old, bone marrow transplant, 1/21/00
"I
was asked if I'd be willing to donate. Were
they kidding? I felt like I had won the
lottery!" - Jackie McLoon, Colin's marrow
donor |
| Jackie
McLoon received an anonymous card. Inside,
in the shaky writing of a young child, were the
following words: "Thank you ... this
is so much for me. I can't believe it, You
are a miracle to me. You will be in my prayers." It
was signed " a very lucky boy." |
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| " I
felt incredible. I felt like I had won
the lottery," McLoon said. |
| The
card was from a young Wisconsin boy with acute
leukemia. Four years earlier, McLoon
had given blood at St. Jude's Parish blood
drive in her hometown of Londonderry. She
had also donated another two tablespoons of
blood and signed herself on to the National
Bone Marrow Donor Program. With matches
few and far between, due to the exactness of
the match needed and a shortage of donors,
McLoon said she never really expected to find
a match or hear from one. |
| Her
donation saved the boy's life and allowed him
to keep fighting the disease. |
| With
a one year anonymity clause between donor and
recipient, McLoon had to wait to finally meet
the boy who received a part of her. Later,
she and a handful of other donors flew to Wisconsin
to meet the children they saved, and McLoon
got a chance to be hugged by Colin Beauman
for the first time. |
| "I
felt like I had added another member of my
family." McLoon said. |
| The
feeling of saving another person's life had
a profound effect on McLoon, who took a job
with HLA, one of the bone marrow registries
falling under the national umbrella. |
| McLoon's
story has come full circle, and she is helping
find bone marrow donors at the place where
she first registered more than a half a decade
ago. |
| For
McLoon. the blood drive was, and remains, an
opportunity for people to give of themselves
and have the chance to save a life. |
| "It's
an awesome feeling." McLoon said. "People
don't often get the chance to see the people
they save. I did and it was all worth
it." |
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Families
Meet!
From
left to right:
Colin's
brother (Nick), Colin's Dad (Dan), Jackie
McLoon, Colin, Colin's Mom (Connie), Colin's
sister (Hannah), Jackie's husband (Ken),
Jackie's son (Kyle) |
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Kyle & Colin |
| Another
Donor Story |
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