The Hold My Hand For Life Foundation is excited to announce the date of the 2012 Spring Fling and Bone Marrow Drive! Saturday, March 31st! Join us for LOTS of free family fun and your chance to save a life by registering to “Be the Match” and join the Bone Marrow Registry! www.bethematch.org
Ethan and Isaac: Hold my Hand for Life Foundation
Ethan and Isaac Lamm are almost three years old. They are carefree and love to be outdoors, wrestle, giggle and tease one another. But more than anything, they love to play baseball.
Their lives are like the game they love. Their opponent: Fanconi Anemia, an inherited anemia that eventually leads to bone failure. Both boys will need bone marrow transplants to survive, a difficult reality that the twins will have to face far younger than anyone should.
During their lives they will be thrown balls, close calls that turn out in their favor. They’ll develop fevers that result in low blood counts that will return to normal when their illness passes. They’ll endure sleepless nights worrying about what to tell their friends or what the future will bring, but still waking healthy enough to take on the next day.
There will also be strikes, adverse events just because they have Fanconi anemia: illnesses that land them in the hospital or that put them one step closer to bone marrow transplant. And times when they are more susceptible to illness and it will be too risky to attend a school, a sleep over, or a family gathering.
Their hits, like advances in research or a bone marrow donor taking the step to join the bone marrow registry, will put them that much closer to winning the game. These moments will be celebrated and greeted with smiles.
We can hope that there will be home runs: their first middle school dance, high school graduation, first day at college or their wedding day.
Ultimately the game winning grand slam is a successful bone marrow transplant which will help them win their fight against Fanconi Anemia.
Their family has created the Hold my Hand for Life Foundation in their name, raising money to support Fanconi Anemia research and one day find a cure. Until a cure is found, a bone marrow transplant is the only chance for survival for people with Fanconi Anemia. Thus the Foundation aims to empower others to join the Be the Match National Marrow Donor Program with the goal of increasing the number of available donors for all those in need of a bone marrow transplant. In addition, the foundation aims to use funds collected for future fundraising and medical expenses.
The Hold my Hand for Life Foundation provides an annual bone marrow drive to help find a match for not just Ethan and Isaac, but anyone in need of a transplant. This year’s drive will be March 31st, 2012.
Please sign up to “Be the Match,” and help Ethan, & Isaac, and so many others, beat Fanconi Anemia!
On April 23rd from we had our 2nd Annual Bone Marrow Drive and Spring Fling…and for the 2nd year in a row, we were humbled and amazed at the support our community gave. We registered 81 more people on the Bone Marrow Registry and raised a large amount of funds that will be divided up among the Be the Match Registry, the Fanconi Anemia Research Funds, and Hold My Hand for Life. We are truly blessed to live in such a wonderful community. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
On March 27th we will be holding a Bone Marrow Donation Drive in order to find a bone marrow donor for Ethan and Isaac. Joining the Bone Marrow Registry means just getting a simple, painless cheek swab. Testing of the swabs costs about $50 a person, which is why we are also having a silent auction to raise funds for the drive! We ask that anyone who can make a donation for the testing, do so. Those generous donations and funds raised at the silent auction will cover the cost of the testing.
Now is the time to get your business in the Life Saving Business! Hold My Hand For Life will be holding a silent auction to raise funds to hold a bone marrow drive on March 27th. This would be a great advertising tool for you and a life saving one for Ethan and Isaac! Check back soon to see a list of the many exciting items that will be auctioned off! You can contact us at the email link to the right or contact a HMHFL member at 434-960-0863.
Many local businesses and even a Major League Baseball team or two have already promised items for the auction! Spring_Fling_2010_-_flyer
On March 27th, we will be holding a Bone Marrow Donation Drive in conjunction with Spring Hill Church’s Spring Fling event. There will also be a silent auction to raise funds for the Hold My Hand For Life foundation. In order to determine if you are a match for Ethan and Isaac….or any other person needing a bone marrow transplant, you simply get your cheek swabbed! We will have volunteers helping out at the event. You can read more about the Bone Marrow Donation process here www.marrow.org . Bring the whole family! There will be moon bounces, an ENORMOUS egg hunt, free food, games and fun for all! The time is TBA. It will most likely be in the afternoon.
Directions to Spring Hill Church: From Charlottesville. Take 29 north to the light at Fray’s Mill Road and Burnley Station. Take a left onto Fray’s Mill. Go about a half mile to the church on the right! www.springhillbaptist.org
Hope to see everyone there! Please spread the word!
Thank you for visiting our new website. We will also be keeping you updated on Ethan and Isaac on this website. Read their story. Please consider donating below.
