BRAVERY THROUGH ILLNESS BLOOD DRIVE SET FOR BOY SUFFERING FROM LEUKEMIA.Byline: CAROL ROCK Staff Writer VALENCIA -- Four days after he was diagnosed with leukemia, Sean Reader took second place in the National Elementary School elementary school: see school. Chess Championship. The following day, he attended Opening Day for the Dodgers. The day after that, he started chemotherapy. It's been a rough year for the 12-year-old Valencia boy. Initially diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia acute lymphoblastic leukemia n. Abbr. ALL Lymphoblastic leukemia occurring mainly in older adults, characterized by rapid onset and progression of symptoms. Also called acute lymphocytic leukemia. in April 2005, doctors hoped he'd be cancer-free in a year, but on April 25, his family got the devastating dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. news -- the cancer was back. ``He's a great kid,'' said Jay Stallings, a family friend and Sean's chess coach since he was in kindergarten. ``He is our top-rated player, but he hasn't been able to play a lot lately because the chemo che·mo n. Chemotherapy or a chemotherapeutic treatment. affects his concentration.'' On Saturday, a blood drive will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. along with a bone marrow registry from 9 a.m. to noon at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 27265 Luther Ave., Canyon Country. Stallings described Sean as an avid sports fan who has a good day when the Dodgers are winning and a bad day when they're not. Because of his limited concentration, he watches a lot of sports on TV. football and Duke basketball. He knows college basketball College basketball most often refers to the American basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, or NCAA. History
He's also a huge fan of ``The Simpsons'' and recently received a special get-well greeting from the show's creator Matt Groening and the artists. ``He's a good kid, a good student and a hard worker,'' Chan Reader said of his son. ``His attitude varies from day to day; it's been a long haul for him, but overall his attitude is good.'' Sean traveled to City of Hope Medical Center for testing on Wednesday in the event that his treatment shifts from Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, where he is currently a patient. ``It was tough, he gets fevers a lot, but he just said `let's go' and we went,'' Chan Reader said, adding that Sean is an only child. ``He's gone through two courses of chemotherapy and now we're taking another course. It's a lot of wait and see right now; he has no white blood cells White blood cells A group of several cell types that occur in the bloodstream and are essential for a properly functioning immune system. Mentioned in: Abscess Incision & Drainage, Bone Marrow Transplantation, Complement Deficiencies and we have to see how they come back. ``The original plan was to get him in remission for a bone marrow transplant bone marrow transplant: see bone marrow. , but he has to make some progress before a transplant is done,'' he said. Chan said that it takes approximately four weeks for the body to recover and Sean completed his last chemo treatment two weeks ago. He is currently on a course of antibiotics to compensate for the loss of his immune system immune system Cells, cell products, organs, and structures of the body involved in the detection and destruction of foreign invaders, such as bacteria, viruses, and cancer cells. Immunity is based on the system's ability to launch a defense against such invaders. . ``You do what you have to do,'' Chan said. ``And you hope.'' For information or to schedule an appointment for the blood drive or bone marrow screening, call Stallings at (661) 288-1705 or e-mail coachmichael(at)cycl.org. carol.rock(at)dailynews.com (661) 257-5252 |
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