Daniel's Fight Blood Drive Helps Local Teen's Fight Against Rare Condition - TAPinto.net

istilahni.blogspot.com

BORDENTOWN TOWNSHIP, NJ-- The Bordentown community is once again coming together to help an area teen with his fight against a rare condition.

Daniel Applegate was diagnosed with Evans Syndrome/ALPS at the age of 9. Evans Sydrome is a rare autoimmune disorder in which the body makes antibodies that destroy red blood cells, platelets and white blood cells.

At 14, he was diagnosed at the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, Maryland with Hyper Active STAT3 GOF, a gene mutation that was causing his autoimmune issues. While Daniel’s mother, Dawn, three brothers and one sister all were found to not have the gene, his father, Chris, was tested and found to be the carrier.

Our newsletter delivers the local news that you can trust.

In addition, Daniel and his father also have a lung disease that causes holes in the lungs.

On Friday, November 20, a blood drive is being held for Daniel at the Bordentown Township Senior Community Center from 1:30pm to 7:30pm.

This will be the sixteenth blood drive that “Daniel’s Fight”, a group started in support of the teen, has organized. Almost 650 units of blood have been collected, which have helped 1,944 people so far.

The blood drives are especially important because Daniel relies on blood products every two weeks to survive.

“The importance of donating blood is critical in saving lives. Daniel would not have survived if it wasn’t for blood and plasma donors,” said his mother, Dawn. “We started Daniel’s Fight because he coded waiting for blood. They did not have a match at the time. So now we hold blood drives every 3 to 4 months.”

“Please come and donate. So many people rely on blood donors,” Dawn said.

In March of this year, Daniel had a relapse and in October, Dawn said that he was out of remission after seven years. Because of COVID-19, Daniel is homebound and unable to see his doctors at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey, Bristol Meyers Squibb Children’s Hospital in New Brunswick, the Texas Children’s Hospital and the National Institute of Health and instead relies on tele-med visits due to his severely compromised immune system.

Daniel, who is a currently a senior at Florence High School, has not been to school since sixth grade. Although he was vaccinated as a child, doctors say that the vaccines “did not take”, meaning he has no immunity, making a school setting too dangerous for him- especially right now during the COVID pandemic.

Because of the coronavirus making virtual learning a necessity, Daniel is now able to actually be with the rest of his class for the first time in a long time. “He really enjoys being with other kids finally,” said Dawn. “He used to have a teacher two hours a day at home after school. Now, he is actually in class at home. So it is nice.”

To make an appointment to donate blood on November 20, go to smarturl.it/NJBS_Drive, sponsor code 68102, or call 800-933-2566.

Walk-ins will be accepted if spacing allows. Please remember to eat, drink and bring your donor ID card or ID with your name and photo. 

If you are unable to donate blood but would like to help Daniel and his family, visit Daniel’s Fight’s GoFundMe page HERE. Donations help with expenses such as high medical costs as well as extra cleaning supplies that are currently needed to make sure Daniel stays healthy during the pandemic.

“We are all so grateful to the residents of Bordentown and surrounding areas for all the support they have given our family since Daniel was diagnosed in 2011,” said Dawn.  

Follow us on Facebook and sign up for TAPinto Bordentown E-News alerts to be the first to read about all things local!

Download the FREE TAPinto App!  Click here for Android - Click here for iOS for breaking news, traffic/weather alerts and special offers.

Know a story we should share with readers? Email Editors Elizabeth Meyers and Kristin Antonello and tell them about it.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

"condition" - Google News
November 19, 2020 at 01:00AM
https://ift.tt/3pADEWZ

Daniel's Fight Blood Drive Helps Local Teen's Fight Against Rare Condition - TAPinto.net
"condition" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2W6ON50
https://ift.tt/2L1ho5r

Bagikan Berita Ini