Making a Difference – An Update – The Hipster Historian

Note: This is a repost + edit of an older blog post I wrote in a previous incarnation of my blogging life in June of 2011, only about two months before my late Grandmother passed away.

How many times have you seen a death certificate or vital record that lists the deceased individual had died of some sort of cancer or tumor?

Today, while was surfing around the web and reading a few blogs, and I came across this one, Alice’s Bucket List. Alice is a fifteen-year girl who has been fighting cancer for almost four years and losing. This brave girl has fought hard but knows this is probably going to be a losing battle for her. In spite of it all, she still has goals, dreams, and wishes and has created her Bucket List. One of the items on the Bucket List is,

“To make everyone sign up to be a bone marrow donor.”

I thought about it for a few minutes and figured, why not if I can help someone in need, who needs it, why not. I’m already a blood donor and organ donor, I can be a bone marrow donor as well. So, this is for you Alice, today I signed up as a Bone Marrow Donor.

To sign up as a donor, visit Be The Match. You fill out a few forms to make sure you are medically well to be able to do it and your kit (which is cheek swabs) come in the mail in 7-10 days. Everyone sign up and help make her dream come true!

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Edit: (August 2018) Even though I wrote this post seven years ago, it is as true today as it was before. Only two months after I wrote the original post, my late Grandmother Donna Mae Erickson died from a brain tumor. Since that time, I’ve read hundreds of death certificates and seen thousands more vital and genealogical records.

Today is actually the seventh anniversary of her passing and I still miss her every day. There are times I’d like to call her and update her on my life and all that has happened in the years since she died. This is my way of honoring her and I recently just updated my information on my listing with Be The Match to make sure that anyone who needs an match that may be a match to me can get that help.