A Match To Save A Life

Facing her fellow teachers at Post Falls’ Prairie View Elementary was tougher than she’d imagined.

“I totally fell apart,” says Debbie Hart, as her third-graders shuffle out of the classroom. “These people are my family and, looking at them, the tears came.”

Debbie had planned to use the same controlled businesslike approach on her friends that she’d used on everyone else she’d asked to become possible bone marrow donors for her cousin Jennifer Drechsel Skagen.

For Debbie, Jennifer’s fight to survive cancer had a deja vu quality. Debbie’s dad died from leukemia four years ago. Leukemia also killed one of her uncles.

Experience had taught her that efficiency is a good manager of fear and grief. She knew Jennifer needed bone marrow. Debbie would find some.

About 63 percent of Americans needing bone marrow find a match. For most, it’s their only chance at life. If Jennifer’s recent intense chemotherapy worked, she’ll be ready for her transplant on Mother’s Day.

A bone marrow drive for Jennifer in Wenatchee last weekend attracted 814 donors. Jennifer lives there now with her husband and four children, but she was raised on a farm in Worley in a clan - the Drechsels - that gathered every Sunday and on holidays.

The 12 Drechsel cousins have spread as far as Australia now. Debbie reached all but one last week, and they had their bone marrow tested. There was no match.

Now Debbie is taking her hunt public. She’s made fliers, arranged donor drives with the Inland Northwest Blood Center. Her telephone rings constantly. She’s busy teaching, moving into a new home, directing an art show and hunting for the perfect bone marrow match.

But there are moments when her desperation to save her 42-year-old cousin leaks through her wall of efficiency, such as the day she faced the roomful of sympathetic Prairie View teachers who were eager to help her.

“I’m the kind of person who sees the next step and does it, but I don’t want to look beyond that,” Debbie says softly. Then she breathes deeply and continues with a teacher’s authority, “I think a match is going to be found.”

The Inland Northwest Blood Center will test potential bone marrow donors 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday at the Worley Grange; noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Pines Baptist Church in Spokane; 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday at Prairie View Elementary; and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 12 at Christ the King Church in Coeur d’Alene. The test costs $20.

This one’s for Mom

If you need a good Mother’s Day treat, look no further than Coeur d’Alene’s Lake City Playhouse. The theater combined late columnist Erma Bombeck’s wit and wisdom with the musings of other writers and poets in “Motherhood: the Second Oldest Profession.”

This show’s sure to shake loose the tears, so give Mom a hanky, too.

“Motherhood” is a benefit for the theater, which lost costumes, props and dressing room space in a fire last December. The show will run Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. Admission is by donation, but Mom is worth at least $10. Call 667-1323 for details.

A touch of Korea

In lieu of a $1,500 plane ticket and jet lag, why not open your home to a young world traveler? Students from Chung Cheong College in Korea will arrive in Coeur d’Alene July 8 for a month and they’ll need places to stay.

Consider it a month of trying new things and making friends to visit later in life. If you have an extra bedroom and can shuttle students around town, call 769-7737 or 769-3224.

Not Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood

A car crashed down my street in the middle of the night recently, crunching a new pickup before backing into my car. It was an odd way to meet the neighbors.

What bizarre events have brought your neighbors together? Gasp out the story to Cynthia Taggart, “Close to Home,” 608 Northwest Blvd., Suite 200, Coeur d’Alene 83814; fax to 765-7149; or call 765-7128.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo