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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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