Swabbing for Kathleen
My name is Kathleen Vonk. I recently got some crummy news and I find myself needing some help. I’ve been diagnosed with CNL, Chronic Neutrophilic Leukemia, a blood cancer that is exceptionally rare (hey, just like me!), a bit of an overachiever (yeah, me again), and quite frankly a great big jerk (ummm… I’ll let you all decide on that comparison for yourselves 😉). I’ve started working with an amazing team of doctors and researchers at Dana-Farber and NYOH, and while there are short term treatments available, currently the only cure for CNL is a bone marrow transplant, so we have started preparing for that inevitability. Here’s where the help comes in… while we search for a matching donor for me, I'm hoping to encourage as many others as I can to be real life superheroes; to join the registry and potentially save my life or the lives of others like me! My son matched and donated to a stranger several years ago, so I know it can happen, and I'm hoping it will happen for me, too. So please, put on your superhero cape and request a free registry kit!
Much love,
Kathy (daughter, sister, wife, mother, aunt, cousin, niece, friend, teacher, helper of veterans, science nerd, music lover, painter, bookworm, breast cancer survivor, cat mom, cheerful giver, annoyingly optimistic lover of life and generally good egg) Vonk 😊