A Shy Little Girl Who Has Leukemia Needs Your Help

I came back from gymnastics one day and heard that Crystal, my coach’s 4-year old daughter, has leukemia. I don’t know Crystal real well, but I’ve met her a couple of times. She’s got really, really blond hair and she’s kind of shy. She’s really cute.

I felt so bad when I heard the news because Crystal’s mom was stressed out and sad. I felt so bad for the whole family. I told my dad about it and he said it would be a good thing to do a blood drive for Crystal, if I wanted. She’s in chemotherapy right now and will need lots of blood as part of her treatments. I didn’t know at the time how much work a blood drive would be, but I’m glad I did it.

I called up all the people I knew and asked them and their parents if they would give blood. Most people said yes and then I had a list. My dad called a person at the blood bank and he got the information on how old you had to be, and how much you have to weigh to give blood. Then I made a flier.

The flier announces the blood drive to “benefit a darling girl named Crystal.” It says it will be held Wednesday Nov. 26 from noon to 5:30 p.m. at Chester Elementary School in the Spokane Valley.

My dad printed 2,000 fliers and I passed out about 100 at my school, Horizon Junior High, and my dad gave a bunch out at other schools in the Valley.

I knew I could do something like this, because my dad is an organizer of food drives and I’ve watched him do big events like this. I’ve also been a Girl Scout since first grade and we’ve organized things such as day camp and programs for younger Scouts. I’ve also taken leadership training through Scouts, so organizing this blood drive didn’t seem too hard.

So far, we have about 20 people signed up. I would like to see about 100 people give blood for Crystal.

You must weigh a minimum of 112 pounds to give blood and be at least 16 years old. If you are 16 or 17, you must have a parental consent form signed. I don’t weigh enough and so that day I will just help out where I can.

When you give blood, you get a credit for the blood that you give. Some of the blood will go to Crystal but the rest will go to other community members.

I know the blood drive is on the day before Thanksgiving and people are busy, but if you can, please take some time to give blood for Crystal. You’ll help her out and make her better.

MEMO: Your Turn is a feature of the Wednesday and Saturday Opinion pages. To submit a Your Turn column for consideration, contact Rebecca Nappi at 459-5496 or Doug Floyd at 459-5466 or write Your Turn, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210-1615.