REMOVING BARRIERS TO TREATMENT: Donna’s Story

Floosmoor, IL

Donna’s cancer diagnosis brought a daunting challenge. Treatment meant months without work, leaving her to face mounting bills.

She needed assistance while preparing for a bone marrow transplant, but she was afraid to ask.

Donna has always been the one helping others. She lived a life of giving. She was a school teacher, a caretaker for elderly family members, and a maternal neighborhood figure, taking local children to summer camp through her church.

Now it was her turn to ask for help, but it put her in an uncomfortable position.

Thanks to the generosity of our donors, the Icla da Silva Foundation stepped in to provide critical support during her treatment. Donna told us that when the email came through, indicating that she would receive support, there was only $12 in her bank account. We provided crucial funds for meals and transportation to medical appointments. We also helped her keep the lights on while she was unable to work due to disease.

Donna was happy to express her gratitude.

“Sometimes, no one knows the distress that someone may be in. I was struggling, financially, silently. I continued to care for my aunt and my mom! I’m fortunate to have credit cards so I had resources. It was just awesome to be selected to receive help from Icla da Silva Foundation. It made me feel like I wasn’t alone and that someone cared!”

Donna’s bone marrow transplant was successful and we wish her a full recovery.

She looks forward to being able to give again.

Your generosity can make a life-changing difference for someone like Donna in their most vulnerable moment. Please make a donation today.

MAKE A DONATION

Written by: Bret Itskowitch

REMOVING BARRIERS TO TREATMENT: Haitham’s Story

Palatine, IL

Recently, Haitham’s world overflowed with joy. He and his wife Nicole welcomed their first child, a beautiful baby boy.

Two months later, their excitement was shattered by devastating news.

A Life-Threatening Diagnosis

Haitham just wasn’t feeling right. He was struggling with fatigue and joint pain for months. Red spots suddenly appeared on his body. His wife is a Dental Hygienist; when she noticed that his gums were swollen and bleeding, she demanded he visit urgent care to get blood work.

The blood tests revealed crushing news, this new father was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). He was recommended to receive a bone marrow transplant.

A Grueling Financial Burden

With a newborn baby at home, the physical, emotional, and financial burden of blood cancer felt insurmountable.

Haitham had not been able to work since his diagnosis. He could barely stand from the fatigue. His wife Nicole was ready to return to work following maternity leave. But now with the transplant coming, she had to switch to a part-time schedule to be his caregiver.

“Things were very difficult for me and my wife,” Haitham recalls. Just as they were on the brink of losing their home and car, a social worker at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, connected them with the Icla da Silva Foundation.

Giving Him A Fighting Chance

Through the Icla Cares program, we provided funds to ensure they could afford housing and transportation while he underwent a bone marrow transplant.

Thanks to our donors, we provided support at a critical moment in their battle against blood cancer. The grant helped keep a roof over their head and maintain their only vehicle while he was in treatment. “It gave me peace of mind,” Haitham says, “knowing we wouldn’t lose everything.”

The transplant was successful. Haitham is currently in remission and slowly recovering.

He is not yet able to return to work, but he is strong enough to care for their son while his wife is at work. We wish him a full recovery and many cherished years with their baby boy.

You Can Help

The Icla da Silva Foundation offers support and hope for a family in their battle against blood cancer. For a patient in financial crisis, we provide grants for meals, transportation, and housing while they are in treatment to receive a bone marrow transplant.

Your support empowers a patient like Haitham to focus on healing. Your donation will ensure a family has the resources they need to fight a life-threatening battle.

Please donate today.

DONATE TODAY

Written by: Bret Itskowitch

It required a coordinated effort of logistics, financial assistance, and of course emotional support to create this life-saving journey.

You may remember a young patient we worked with named Victor Garcia. At the age of 9, Victor was diagnosed with acute biphenotypic leukemia (BAL), a rare form of leukemia. He was being treated at a hospital in his home country of the Dominican Republic. His doctor determined that the only cure for Victor was a bone marrow transplant from a matching donor. 

But there was no matching donor on the registry.

Since siblings represent the best chance for a match, the Icla da Silva Foundation was able to fund HLA testing for his 7-tear-old sister Neyyleyn. 

We were happy to find out that Neyyleyn was a 100% match for her brother Victor. But unfortunately, the local hospital did not have the resources to perform the transplant.

Emotional, Logistical, and Financial Support

The Icla da Silva Foundation went into overdrive. We supported Victors’ family and helped coordinate his transplant under a clinical trial at Yale New Haven Teaching Hospital in Connecticut. Our team worked the logistics between the family, the doctors, and the consulates from both countries, assuring that Victor would be able to receive a life-saving transplant.

Thanks to financial support from donors like you, we were also able to fund transportation for the Garcia’s to the United States, while the Ronald McDonald House graciously provided housing.

It took many steps and multiple partners, but a little boy’s life was saved. The Icla da Silva Foundation is both proud and happy to have played a critical role.

Victor is doing well, he is back home in the Dominican Republic; going to school and playing baseball.

You can help us create more life-saving stories like Victors. Please consider a financial contribution to our Icla Cares program.

DONATE

Written by: Bret Itskowitch

After 9 years, Asaya finally received his bone marrow transplant – three days before his 10th birthday!

You may remember Asaya Bullock from earlier stories on our website and social media pages. Asaya suffered from a rare disease called IPEX Syndrome. IPEX is a rare, life-threatening, autoimmune disorder, which caused Asaya to suffer from severe stomach issues, migraines, body aches, rashes, and joint pain for most of his young life.

His only cure was a matching bone marrow donor.

We have been working with Asaya since 2015, recruiting potential marrow donors and providing urgent needs assistance for his family. This video shows 4-year-old Asaya when we first began his search.

There Was No Matching Donor

While thousands of donors were added to the national registry in Asaya’s name, a matching donor was never found.

As Asaya got older, his illness became worse. His health was deteriorating. He was in and out of the hospital multiple times in recent months.

After his original diagnosis, the doctors didn’t believe he would survive past the age of two. He was already living on borrowed time.

Can you imagine the pain and perseverance that his parents have lived with…

“You don’t ever sleep because you know at any point in time your baby could lie down next to you and he doesn’t wake up” – Charlene Bullock

“He doesn’t give up. I don’t give up. We don’t give up” – Vincent Bullock

A Rare Success

The medical team agreed to the family’s request for a ‘haplo’ transplant. A haploidentical transplant uses healthy, blood-forming cells from a half-matched donor. The donor is usually a parent – since each parent represents about half of your genetic make-up.

They are not always successful.

On July 27, 2021, Asaya received a half-matched transplant from his dad.

The transplant was successful.

Three days after his transplant, on July 30th, Asaya celebrated his 10th birthday!

Asaya seems to be doing fine. His body successfully accepted 99.4% of the cells. His doctor says this was rare.

So far, there are no complications and he is eating and drinking on his own, which is a terrific sign.

Next Steps

Fortunately, there was room at the Ronald McDonald House in NYC. Asaya will have to stay for 120 days, remaining close to his hospital while they continue to check his progress.

We wish Asaya a long, healthy, pain-free life…with many, many more birthdays to celebrate!

Help us support more patients like Asaya by considering a donation

PLEASE DONATE

Written by: Bret Itskowitch

“Little” Ricky Roman isn’t so little anymore, he is now almost as tall as his dad, “Big” Ricky.  In February, Little Ricky turned 16, but the blood pulsing through his body is technically only seven years old.  In May, he celebrated his 7th transplant birthday, 7 years after receiving a stem cell transplant from an unknown donor.

In September 2010, Little Ricky wasn’t feeling well.  He was bruising easily and his eyes were a pale yellow.  His parents rushed him to the doctor. One month later, he was diagnosed with severe aplastic anemia, a rare and serious condition in which the bone marrow stops producing enough new blood cells.  It leaves you feeling weak and fatigued, with a higher risk of infections and potential heart complications.

Little Ricky was an active child, so his fatigue was an obvious sign that something was wrong.  He liked biking, baseball and boxing. After diagnosis, his obsession with boxing took on a new meaning.  While no one is prepared for a battle with cancer, Little Ricky became a true fighter.

The Search for a Match

It was determined by his doctors that a stem cell transplant was his only cure. At the time, there was no match on the Be The Match bone marrow registry.  Aunts, uncles and cousins were tested.  Unfortunately, no one was a match for Little Ricky.  With the support of his family, friends and the Icla da Silva Foundation, everyone was determined to find a match. We held bone marrow drives, getting as many people as possible to join the registry, and we all hoped that a life saving match would turn up.

Ricky spent a year going back and forth to the hospital, for treatments, tests and observation.  His mom had to quit her job so that she was always available for a quick trip to the hospital, an overnight stay, or weeks of treatments.

Finally, A Match Was Found

Little Ricky Roman, the fighter, received a successful transplant in May of 2011 at NY Presbyterian Hospital.  

Someone who had joined the Be The Match registry was a match for Ricky.  Fortunately, they said yes to a stem cell donation. Ricky has yet to meet the donor who joined the registry.  He knows that it is a woman, and he is grateful that she said yes when she received the call asking her to donate.  We hope to be able to arrange a meeting between Little Ricky and his donor.

Annual Ricky Roman Fundraiser

Since the time of his diagnosis, the Roman family has been very supportive of the Icla da Silva Foundation.  They are avid sports fans; they ran together in our annual 5K, and for the past 8 years, the Roman’s have been hosting a Softball Fundraiser to support the Icla da Silva Foundation.  We are extremely grateful for their efforts. The money they raise helps us continue fighting for patients who need a bone marrow transplant. You can click this link to find out more information about the Ricky Roman Softball Fundraiser and register a team. 

If you are in or near Jersey City, join them on the field:

Saturday August 4

9:00 AM

Caven Point Softball Fields, Jersey City, NJ

It’s easy to enter a team, or simply support their efforts through a donation.

We are very grateful and we appreciate their continued support of our efforts.  We know many patients are thankful as well (click below to support the fundraiser).

Keep Fighting Ricky

According to his Aunt Maria, Ricky is doing well.  He starts High School in the fall. He loves baseball, bikes, and playing video games.  Of course all children love playing video games, often to the exasperation of many adults, but this is a special circumstance.  Spending a year in and out of the hospital for treatments gives ‘playing video games’ a new understanding.

Keep fighting Ricky, keep playing, keep growing, and thank you to you and your family for continuing to raise funds for us.