I saw on the news a few weeks ago that one of my fraternity brothers in college is fighting for his life. He is 31 years old and has a 3 year old and a 6 month old. I shot an email out to alumni in my fraternity to try to get the ball rolling as much as possible to try to save him and raise money for his family as he is incurring a lot of medical expenses. I'm going to give you the generic letter we sent out to places. I am hoping Wireman gets on here as he has all the latest updates on how you might be able to help. We have tapped into a lot of resources including a lot of media etc. Wireman has really gone above and beyond to make this thing into a huge success as far as people helping out and recognized. It is almost to a National level now. My friends name is Keith Cochran. He is from Belfry origanlly and went to Morehead.

Here is the letter:

I wanted to share with you is that one of my good friends from

college and fraternity brother that is currently in great need.

Gary Keith Cochran, MSU 1997, has been diagnosed with non-Hodgkins

Lymphoma - a very aggressive form of cancer that can only be healed

with a successful bone marrow transplant. Keith, who is origionally

from Belfrey, KY, is only 31 years old and has two little girls,

ages 2 and 7 months. He needs us to help him through this so that he

can be with his wife and precious little girls. My Alumni

Association is currently in the process of organizing a massive bone

marrow donor drive with the hopes of finding a match for Keith. This

drive will take place on the Morehead State University Campus Oct.

24-25th. Also during this illness, his family has faced a tremendous

amount of healthcare costs. I feel we all could pitch in to help

Keith and his family in that regard as well. So I am asking you to

please, if at all possible, if you can go to the Blood Center on

Waller and get tested (this is in Lexington but there should be places close to you) and request to be tested and placed on the

national registry list for bone marrow donors you can have the test

taken there and then have the results sent to Keith's donor site.

The test is simple - 4 cotton swabs to the inside of your cheek –

but expensive so they ask that you donate blood at the same time and

they will do the marrow tests for free. Also I understand that in

the 1 and a million chance you match someone who is desperately

waiting for bone marrow the donation of it no longer requires any

surgery.

 

I know you have never met Keith Cochran, but I feel obligated as a

brother, a friend, and as a young father myself to do anything I can

to help him. I hope many of you feel the same way. I know this e-

mail is a little lengthy, and it has taken you a few minutes to read

it, but it is for a great cause.

 

Thanks to all of you. If you would like to donate in addition or

just donate a couple bucks instead of getting tested then we will try to get a link for the Keith Cochran Family account.

 

Here are two online stories about Keith:

 

http://www.news- expressky. com/articles/ 2006/09/06/ news/01bone. txt

 

http://www.rctimes. com/apps/ pbcs.dll/article? AID=/20060906/

MTCN0303/ 309060077/ 1306/MTCN03

Obviously prayers would be great too!

http://www.wkyt.com/wymtnews/headlines/3936031.html

I wonder where you get tested in Bowling Green? If you do match someone, how do they take the bone marrow from you? I know that I was a match for my grandpa when I was 5 years old and my parents would not let me do it because of the pain.....Man, I really hope he gets a donor. How do I find out where to get tested in Bowling Green (who would you suggest that I call)?

 

Is there any limitations if you do match anyone...someone? I don't mean to sound like my pain would bother me....it would not to save someone's life....but, I am soooo needed around here with PH and my mother in law. Do you have any info on recovery, how they take it etc? I really would not mind getting tested in hopes I would be a match if no one else is...and, if not a match for him, maybe someone else.

Keith is a great guy, a good Christian father and a friend. The blood drive, donor match search in Belfry a couple of weeks ago went well with nearly 150 participating. Hopefully a match will be found.

 

If you are a match, you could save his life or someone elses.

 

Keith and his wife went to Duke University this week where he will be for at least 100 days. This is a critical time for them.

 

Thank you for having this drive on Morehead campus. And thank you for all your prayers. There is power in prayer and I know the family appreciates every prayer that is offered up on Keith's behalf.

http://www.dana-farber.org/how/donatebone/about-the-donation-process.html

Here is a link to the process. The test is just a few swabs of the mouth with a cotton ball as I understand it. You aren't locked in to having to donate if you aren't comfortable with it. I'd say you can call your local health department or somebody like that to find out how to get tested in your hometowns. Wireman might have more info when he gets on here.

Keith is a great guy, a good Christian father and a friend. The blood drive, donor match search in Belfry a couple of weeks ago went well with nearly 150 participating. Hopefully a match will be found.

 

If you are a match, you could save his life or someone elses.

 

Keith and his wife went to Duke University this week where he will be for at least 100 days. This is a critical time for them.

 

Thank you for having this drive on Morehead campus. And thank you for all your prayers. There is power in prayer and I know the family appreciates every prayer that is offered up on Keith's behalf.

 

Watusi - our paths have crossed again, my friend. Its a small world isn't it?

 

I will have the details on all the loose ends a little later in the day. I am actually leaving in about 5 minutes to meet a news reporter that is going to do a story in one of the local newspapers and to have some signs made to advertise the bone marrow drive. When I get back this afternoon, I'll post everything.

 

I will tell you this - I saw a picture of Keith's little girls last night for the first time and I sat alone in my office and cried and prayed to God. His 3-year old looks so much like my little girl that it is kind of overwhelming for me. When I put myself in his shoes, I can only imagine how hard it would really be. I, along with several others such as Stick1 and our Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity brothers, have decided to dedicate ourselves in any and every way possible to help Keith and his family. I will have more later.

 

One thing I can answer now - the process of donating bone marrow is not like it used to be. You simply set in a chair for 4-6 hours and have several tubes hooked up to you. It is no longer a painful surgery like it used to be. I have been told that even a child could donate these days. Purplehaze - you can give blood and have the bone marrow test at your local blood drive center and then ask them to send the test results to the Lexington blood drive place to be tested for Keith. I will get some contact info for you a little later today.

 

Thanks to everyone that helps with this. God Bless.

My thoughts and prayers are with him and his family. May God bless him.

I wonder where you get tested in Bowling Green? If you do match someone, how do they take the bone marrow from you? I know that I was a match for my grandpa when I was 5 years old and my parents would not let me do it because of the pain.....Man, I really hope he gets a donor. How do I find out where to get tested in Bowling Green (who would you suggest that I call)?

 

Is there any limitations if you do match anyone...someone? I don't mean to sound like my pain would bother me....it would not to save someone's life....but, I am soooo needed around here with PH and my mother in law. Do you have any info on recovery, how they take it etc? I really would not mind getting tested in hopes I would be a match if no one else is...and, if not a match for him, maybe someone else.

 

 

The actual donation usually requires that the donor undergoe general anesthesia during which a doctor extracts marrow from the pelvic bone, using a needle. The donor is discharged that day, but usually has some soreness for awhile. A true 'pain in the butt", but worth saving someone's life. I have never done it, but we should all be reminded of the importance. If it was one of our loved ones, it seems like a small price to pay.

 

Hoxworth has been calling me recently to get me to donate blood. I will go Friday and certainly ask to be put on the list. Best of luck to your friend.

They can also do another procedure (Peripheral Blood Stem Cell donation) that isn't surgical and remove the needed elements from your blood without doing the marrow extraction. I don't know if everyone is a candidate, but it involves removing your blood, extracting what they need from it and then replacing your blood back. I think it takes 5-6 hours, but is less invasive and painful than a marrow extraction.

 

See the link stick1 posted earlier.

They can also do another procedure (Peripheral Blood Stem Cell donation) that isn't surgical and remove the needed elements from your blood without doing the marrow extraction. I don't know if everyone is a candidate, but it involves removing your blood, extracting what they need from it and then replacing your blood back. I think it takes 5-6 hours, but is less invasive and painful than a marrow extraction.

 

See the link stick1 posted earlier.

 

 

I couldnt open that one for some reason.

 

You are correct about that procedure Watusi. I do not know why one procedure is chosen over another one. Seems like peripheral donation would be the easiest way to go. I know it is newer than surgical extraction.

 

Would be interested in knowing if any of our bgp'ers have donated or know anyone directly who has.

I couldnt open that one for some reason.

 

You are correct about that procedure Watusi. I do not know why one procedure is chosen over another one. Seems like peripheral donation would be the easiest way to go. I know it is newer than surgical extraction.

 

Would be interested in knowing if any of our bgp'ers have donated or know anyone directly who has.

 

I just wanted to let everyone know that I mentioned this to the people from the blood center and they did say for sure that the process is much easier now. You sit in a chair and they do the work for about 5 hours or so. You can actually sit in the chair and talk to friends and family, then go home. Her comment was "even a child can give marrow easily..."

My uncle (who was like my big brother) died at age 42. He was healthy as could be but got hit with cancer at age 40 out of nowhere. He left to baby girls behind ironically. I got tested at the time he was sick. They actually found a match from Texas. It was saving his life but he died of pneumonia because his blood count was down.

I think the test is easier and they are trying to make the whole process much easier. It's like $68 to test but they do it free if you donate blood. At least that's how it is the places we have come across.

Ok, here is what we have planned so far. First, there will be a silent auction in Morehead this weekend during MSU's Homecoming. We are taking donations from everyone that will donate. We'll take anything from money to anything of value that can be sold in a silent auction. If you're on Bluegrass Preps and you'd like to donate something, private message me. We'll figure out a way to get it mailed or if I need to, I'll drive to you and pick it up. Anything will help. Also, I'll make sure you are recognized in newspapers or anything else I can do to help you.

 

Second, we are having a bone marrow/blood drive on the campus of Morehead State University on October 24-25. It will be inside of Button Auditorium (across the street from ADUC student center). The times each day will be 11AM - 5PM. They ask that you donate blood at the same time you have the tests. The tests are quick and easy - cotton swabs to the inside of your cheek. Nothing painful and you have the chance to save a life. We're in the process of contacting several media outlets (newspapers, radio, and t.v.). Also, we have been working to get several state senators and representatives to attend along with a few other "surprise" celebrities.

 

The third event that is in the works is a stretcher walk. This is where 5 guys team up. One guy sits on the stretcher and two guys carry him. The other two ride in a vehicle and take turns carrying. The stretcher is not allowed to hit the ground and the success of the event is measured in distance walked. At one time, the SAE fraternity at MSU broke the world record for distance walked in a stretcher walk. The record was held by a group of Canadian Mounties at the time. The Mounties discovered that they had lost the record and promptly took the record back. Then, sometime down the road, a group of Army Rangers or some other special forces group broke their record and currently hold it. Back then, the SAE's carried the stretcher down US 60 from Morehead to Commonwealth Stadium or whatever the football stadium was called during the 70's. The way the walk works is that we take donations on a per mile basis from businesses/individuals. For example, if you donate $1.00 a mile and we walk 100 miles, you donate $100. This event is being planned for mid- to late-November.

 

All proceeds from all fundraisers will go straight to the Keith Cochran Fund, which will then go straight to Keith and his family. If you've ever thought about donating anything to a good cause, I beg you to conact me and help this young man and his family out. God Bless.

Awesome effort guys. :ylsuper: