Family Hoping to Find Bone Marrow Donor for Teen Girl

HAGERSTOWN, MD - Taking a few minutes out of your evening Wednesday night would mean the world to one Hagerstown family. They're looking for someone who can donate bone marrow to a girl who's battling leukemia.

"I had cancer three years ago. I already know this storm, but not this hurricane, because now it's my daughter," says Victor Recuenco.

Victor's 13-year-old daughter, Cathy, has been in the hospital since the end of September. While the doctors are seeing improvements, there's a chance things could take a turn for the worse.

He explains, "The leukemia may come again. It could be worse, and this kind of chemo, it won't be effective for that."

That's why the Hagerstown Seventh-Day Adventist Church is having a bone marrow drive Wednesday night, trying to find Cathy's lifesaver.

Helping Cathy is simple, and it's pain-free. All you have to do is give a saliva sample to see if you're a potential match. Even if you're not a match for Cathy, there are so many other people who need bone marrow.

"That information is going to be in storage so that if in the future anyone matches the same data, they will be contacted and they will be offered the possibility to donate to another person," says Pastor Josue, Cathy's youth pastor at the Hagerstown Seventh-Day Adventist Church.

Cathy's family is praying for a miracle - someone who can make a donation that will make all the difference.

"It would make me very happy because she would be with the family again and we could travel and go places and just be a family again," says Cathy's sister, Jacqueline.

Now her family and friends are hoping even a complete stranger can come to the rescue.

The bone marrow drive is at the Hagerstown Seventh-Day Adventist Church at 11507 Robinwood Drive. You can show up between 5 and 6:30 p.m. Read more atyour4state.com.

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