Bone marrow gift inspires walk

Deer Park resident Jeana Moore left for a long walk on Oct. 19, 2009. She’s been walking ever since, covering more than 3,000 miles through eight states in a cross-country journey she hopes will save lives the way her granddaughter’s life was saved.

As she walks, Moore remembers how 3-year-old Jada Bascom nearly died from acute myeloid leukemia as a newborn. Six rounds of chemotherapy and countless blood transfusions kept the baby alive while she waited for a bone marrow transplant.

Though almost 50 relatives got a simple cheek swab to see if they could donate, none were the match Jada needed. In fact, no one on the National Bone Marrow Registry matched. But when Jada was 7 months old, she received her life-saving bone marrow transplant from a donor in Germany.

Once Jada was well and cancer-free, Moore knew she had to help the people still waiting for their match. So last fall she started her cross-country walk, sharing Jada’s story, speaking at registry drives and inspiring others to do the cheek swab to see if they, too, could save a life.

“When I left Spokane, I knew there are 6,000 people a day looking for a match. As I’ve gone on my journey, now I know those 6,000 people are beginning to have faith,” said Moore. “It’s working.”

By the end of August, her efforts had prompted 2,392 people to register with the National Bone Marrow Registry.

“I walk or I’m doing bone marrow work pretty much seven days a week,” said Moore, 57. She rests in the evening or during the afternoon heat. “Generally I walk for three or four days and have an extra day in a town where I can talk to people about the registry.”

Moore’s walk, which she calls “Steps To-Marrow,” will end in New York next January. Everywhere she walks, she tells people how easy it is to register: It takes 10 to 15 minutes to fill out the form online, and the National Bone Marrow Registry will send a free swab kit to you. “That’s all that it takes to see if you’re the match that saves a life,” she said.

Now on her 11th pair of shoes, Moore said she walks between 12 and 20 miles a day in all weather. Surprisingly, the spry woman has actually gained a little weight during her trek.

“I rely on the generosity of others for food and housing,” said Moore. She eats whatever she’s offered and has happily sampled new dishes and local cuisine as she’s gratefully experienced warmth and hospitality in countless communities. “The American people have been amazing and generous.”

From fire stations and churches to service clubs and political organizations, she said people have graciously helped her, providing places to stay, feeding her and telling others about her journey.

“Sometimes people will pass me on. They know someone who lives south or east of them, and they will contact that person and I’ll have a place to stay when I get into town,” said Moore. “That is really nice to know you’ll have a place to stay and get some rest.”

Carrying essentials in a backpack and wearing a reflective vest, Moore has seen the vast and varied beauty of the country while meeting many people. One of her most memorable moments was the morning she checked the Steps To-Marrow website, stepstomarrow.com, on her mobile phone and discovered Jada’s German donor, Torsten, had signed the guest book.

“I can’t describe the joyous feeling. We, as a family, have very much wanted to express our gratitude for his life-giving donation,” said Moore, adding that she’s since learned Torsten signed up because a child in his community needed a bone marrow transplant. “In essence he was just in time to be Jada’s donor. If he had waited, Jada wouldn’t have had her match. Thank God he didn’t wait.”

Moore said she’s met people who are waiting for their match and people who’ve had success the way Jada did. And she’s met friends and family of people who died waiting for their match. Those stories and the thought of her granddaughter keep her going.

“I really want people to sign up to join the registry, to not wait until it affects their family. If I had known the desperate need before Jada was ill, I would have signed up, because people are dying every day.”