The following article appeared in the Southern Yangtze River City News on July 19, 2006.
 | Click here for the Chinese language version |
The following English translation was provided by our friend Kurt Burgeson in Virginia courtesy of his next door neighbor Beth.
American Couple Seeks Bone Marrow for their Daughter from Ying Tan
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Chemotherapy |
An American couple adopted a baby girl from Ying Tan orphanage to form a special family. However, just as the couple took the baby girl back to America, she was diagnosed a rare blood disease that might require bone marrow transplant. This American couple is extremely worried about their Chinese baby girl. They contacted our reporter, hoping to find the matching bone marrow for their baby girl.
| Sudden Calamity: Baby Girl Diagnosed for rare blood disease |
Isabelle is the baby girl adopted by the Brights on April, 5th from Ying Tan orphanage. The Brights has a ten year old daughter. For health reason, they can not have another child. Therefore, they decided grow their family through adoption and to provide an opportunity for a happy life for the adopted child.
“The baby girl was healthy when they first adopted her. However, she started to have diarrhea soon after.” mentioned by Ms. Bright in an email. Isabelle has already developed bond with Ms. Bright even in a short period of time. She cries if she can not see Ms. Bright. On June 7th, the Brights arrived at their home in NY with the new family member. However, Isabelle had diarrhea again on the next day.
After six days of diagnosis, the doctors informed the Brights that little Isabelle has HemophagocyticLympho histiocytosis (HLH). This is a rare blood disease with a probability of one out of one million people. Most of the children with HLH can not be cured. If the disease is hereditary, the only cure is bone marrow transplant. During the diagnostic process, the doctors found that Issabelle has Cy Tomegalovirus. Some people got affected with HLH through this virus.
| Active Treatment: Making progress but still requires chemotherapy |
“This weekend, Isabelle might come home; however, she still needs to do Chemotherapy every week.” On July 17th, during our latest conversation with the Brights, they told us good news. Lisa is doing her first phase of Chemotherapy that will last eight weeks. This is Isabelle’s third week of the treatment. She is getting better and she will come home after her IV. However, she needs to return to the hospital to do Chemotherapy and checkup every week.
The Brights are very sad that the eleven month old Isabelle is going through so much pain. Kelsey stayed in the hospital caring for Isabelle every day. “In the beginning, Isabelle’s screaming broke our heart. Now, we can see her smile occasionally.” said the Brights. The disease almost destroyed Isabelle. Now Isabelle is getting calmer after the treatment.
However, the doctors told the Brights that they are not sure whether Lisa is cured. It is possible that the problem will reoccur. If the problem reoccurs, the only treatment left is bone marrow transplant. In the next four to six weeks, the doctors will develop a better long term treatment plan.
| Urgent Need: Seek matching bone marrow to save little life |
“Although matching bone marrow is not needed at this time, we still hope to find the matching bone marrow that can be used when needed.”
Doctors told the Brights that for some patients, the disease can be cured through medicine, however, for other patients; the effect of medicine is only temporary. The ultimate solution is still bone marrow transplant. The best match is the bone marrow from brothers or sisters. However, with new medical technology, matching bone marrow can be found through none blood related donor. Although Chemotherapy and bone marrow transplant have risks, these are last hope for some patients.
The Brights really hope to find the bone marrow donor in order to save Isabelle’s life when needed through Jiang Xi news agency since Lisa was adopted in Ying Tan. Currently, Lisa is testing her blood cell type. The Brights are contacting Chinese bone marrow database, hoping to find matching bone marrow.
