Cord Blood Donation...We Tried...

When I was going to my baby classes, I learned about donating cord blood to research. This was something that I was very interested in doing since if it isn't donated, it is just thrown away. So I looked into the information my instructor provided and signed up to donate my child's cord blood through the Dan Berger Cord Blood Program.

Dan Berger was a prominent Pittsburgh attorney, citizen, and humanitarian who was diagnosed with cancer. After many years of treatment and remission, Dan received a successful stem cell transplant to cure him of both the lymphoma and the leukemia that ensued. In July of 2006, Dan’s heart failed. It was in the course of his treatment that Dan and his wife, Carol, recognized the lifesaving impact of stem cells, and in particular, umbilical cord blood, which is rich in stem cells. The Berger family approached Magee-Womens Foundation to encourage a systematic collection of umbilical cord blood. With much hard work and dedication, Magee publicly unveiled The Dan Berger Cord Blood Program in October 2007.

Cord blood stem cells have been used to treat more than 40 diseases, including many cancers, and account for more than 8,000 transplants worldwide and offers hope to many families, like the Berger family.

So I had all my paperwork filled out, in my bag, ready to go when we went to the hospital. I told the nurses when we got there that this was something we wanted to do and they said OK. Except after an unsuccessful first try at delivering, we had to do an emergency c-section. So I was unaware after they stitched me back up that my cord blood wasn't donated. It was OK though because all that mattered to me was that my baby was healthy - and she is!

Funny thing is that we received a packet in the mail from the cord blood program thanking us for our donation and inside we found a cute little t-shirt. My husband decided to make it work for our situation.

Maybe with the next baby we will get to successfully donate. If you have had a child, did you donate? If you are planning on becoming a parent, is this something you have even thought about?

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It Takes a Village

We've all heard the saying, "It takes a village to raise a child." Well, it actually takes a whole lot more than a village to raise a child, raise awareness, raise self-esteem or do just about anything.

We live in a world full of "communities." Facebook is a community. Our churches are commuities. Our neighborhoods, co-workers, friends, friends of friends are our communities.

Back in our childhood days, we were taken care of by our parents, coaches, friends' parents. We ate dinner wherever. Slept wherever. And never worried. Someone would take care of us. Someone always took care of us.

As we enter adulthood, somewhere, we lose that. We lose the security of that "community" that cared for us and had our back. We have circles of friends that we are truly blessed to have. But we lose the "I'll look out for you if you look out for me." We get busy with our own lives and the waters get muddy. Too many ingredients fill the batter and we are left with something that looks amazing, but doesn't fill our hunger.

I have a lot of good friends. Friends that I could call at any hour of any day who would talk me off a ledge, bring me a home-cooked meal or laugh me out of a funk. But still, I hunger for more. I have back-up at work if I'm on vacation or sick, but what about in my real world?

I live far away from my hometown. The place I actually still refer to as home. But through communities, such as facebook, I'm still connected. Recently, on one of my daily facebook checks, I saw a posting from Liv With Autism. It regarded a simple idea--to anonymously friend another mom in the group and become their "Secret Sista." Someone who understands where you are, what you are going through and gives you anonymous words of encouragement, wisdom and the occasional Starbucks gift card. I'm not a part of the support group. I'm too far away. But the idea that someone, somewhere could give me validation that not even most of my closest of friends could (though they try, bless them all). I was in. All in!

Same goes for a friend of mine whose husband is fighting renal cancer. She's made her own community of support. She's set up the Renal Race. Gotten sponsers. Created a website and facebook following. All to honor her family's fight, but also support her mission. Surrounding herself with loved ones and friends, who in a most desperate time of need, are willing to step up and step in to help.

I don't know where my communities will lead me. I don't know if they will feed me or let me sleep under their roofs. I do know that where I am right now, among all my fellow villagers, we are doing what we can with what we have and we are crying, laughing and smirking through it all.

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