If you are A+ blood type please help out a former DH'er fight for his life

[foofighter]

If anyone is local to Orange County, go donate some platelets for Nick Reed, he is in desperate need of them as he is fighting for his life with this Leukemia. Blood Donor Center at St. Josephs: 714-744-8721. He's A+ the blood will go to him if you call the direct number.

Here is a quick rundown of his story:
He is 26 had swine, then pneumonia, then mono and then MRSA all between November to present. He couldnt fight anything off and was getting everything. His bone marrow came back positive for Leukemia ( ALL-preB) He doesnt even know he has cancer yet, they put him in a drug induced coma and breathing machine to let his body rest and during that time they tested his bone marrow. Hes gotta fight the good fight.

I know you dont know him from Adam but this kid has lived a very clean life and is a song that any parent would be proud of. His sister had a prayer vigil for him and he had over 150 show up to support him. If you cant donate please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. He's a crazy DH kid when i first met him and will put up a good fight against this eff'd up thing.

Here's his caringbridge journal if you care to read.

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/nicholasreed

Thanks all.

Duan

[LukeTrailrider]

I'm A+ and I am willing to donate, however I live in Upland and do not have a car at the moment. If some one can provide a ride from my home to the donation center and back, I would be happy to help.

[monstertiki]

Originally Posted by foofighter

He is 26 had swine, then pneumonia, then mono and then MRSA all between November to present. He couldnt fight anything off and was getting everything. His bone marrow came back positive for Leukemia ( ALL-preB) He doesnt even know he has cancer yet,

Geez, someone cut this kid a break. All that plus leukemia? This should be all over the local news instead of the normal crap... Best wishes and hope he pulls through.

[Rastaman]

I'm A+ and a regular donor at my local blood bank(San Diego), I'll drive north if need.

[DISCO]

St' Joes is Walking distance from the Orange train station.That is some pretty tough luck though.

[denmother]

Thanks for posting this. I didn't see the Caring Bridge link, can you post it again? Thanks!

[foofighter]

sorry got all wrapped up in the post last night and forgot the link..i edited it but here it is.

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/nicholasreed

thank you for your thoughts and if you make it there to donate it truly is the best gift he'll ever receive. He went through his first round of chemo and responded well...he still needs the platelets though so whatever you can do would be greatly appreciated by Nick's family.

[gooseaholic]

Im A+ and live a block from ST. Joes, will go tomorrow.

[foofighter]

Thank you so much! please make sure that you tell them this is for Nick Reed.

[GeorgiaOfTheJungle]

I am currently unable to donate

Platelets are much needed, as there is a short supply of them throughout the OC and they are difficult to get.

FYI, if you plan on donating platelets or are able, please contact St Jo's or the Red Cross to see if you need an appointment. I believe that it typically takes a few hours and there are some restrictions, such as no aspirin, alcohol, or ibuprfen/NSAIDs for so many hours before. More info: http://www.givelife2.org/donor/apheresis.asp

[gooseaholic]

called saint joes, there is enough blood as far as they say coming in. Have an appointment Wednesday at 7:30 am. Call ahead, there seems to a little confusion and plenty of donors. The nurse i talked to did not even know what blood type he needed, soo.................

[hunterp101]

It' not just A+ that can donate to him. There are other types as well. Refer to the chart here to see if you are a possible match. A, B and AB are all universal platelet donors.

http://givebloodgivelife.org/education/bloodtypes.php

[foofighter]

Originally Posted by gooseaholic

called saint joes, there is enough blood as far as they say coming in. Have an appointment Wednesday at 7:30 am. Call ahead, there seems to a little confusion and plenty of donors. The nurse i talked to did not even know what blood type he needed, soo.................

if i could give you a million thanks i would. the nurse probably wasnt nicks primary nurse i dunno, his family posted on his journal that he is A+

anyway, thank you very much.

[Happy_Gilmore]

Blood Platelet Donations can also be made at Children's Hospital Orange County (CHOC) Blood Donor Center 714-997-3000 ext. 8339. You must "verbally designate" your donation is for "Nick Reed".

Children's Hospital Orange County (CHOC) and St. Josephs Hospitals share the same blood bank and are located adjacent to one other.

I am scheduled to donate.

Children's Hospital Orange County
455 S. Main St.
Orange, CA

Originally Posted by foofighter

If anyone is local to Orange County, go donate some platelets for Nick Reed, he is in desperate need of them as he is fighting for his life with this Leukemia. Blood Donor Center at St. Josephs: 714-744-8721. He's A+ the blood will go to him if you call the direct number.

[Rumpled]

I am A+ but currently stuck with a nasty cold. I give blood a lot but have never doen platelets. When I am better; I will try to donate for Nick - or someone else in need.

[Pain Freak]

This is why I love STR>
Thanks everyone.

[foofighter]

Thank you Happy Gilmore! If you're into karma, you just hit the jackpot man! thank you so much.

[DirtyGirlMonkey9]

I'm O+ and they are accepting whole blood donations for him for the O blood type. Have an appointment Friday to donate for him.

[denmother]

Tuesday, January 12, 2010 9:16 AM, CST

Here is the letter from Steve & Terri Reed that was read at the prayer vigil last week (1/5) at Holy Family Church. So remember some of the health updates within this letter are from last week.

]Thank you all for being here to help us bring our boy, Nicholas back. Some news to report at 6:00pm his doctor told us that for the first time there are some signs of improvement. This was very good for us to hear. We were instructed to not get too excited about good news or too upset about bad news so let’s keep the faith and positive energy going for the long haul. We cannot begin to express our gratitude for the overwhelming love and support that has been offered by so many dear friends and family members. Please bear with us as we go on this emotional roller coaster ride. We need to try to keep it together for Nick so please accept our apologies if we avoid situations that may further drain our emotions. This illness came into our lives like a runaway train with your prayers of love we plan to run that train back out of town. All of you are the light that helps us make it through this dark road. Because we do believe in God, we do believe in miracles, we have already been told a few times that Nicholas has done some things that they have never seen before. Nicholas is a very strong young man it took more sedative to calm him down than one doctor could believe. Although Nicholas is like Jonah at the bottom of the ocean tangled in seaweed with your prayers and faith we know God will provide the whale to deliver Nicholas safely back to shore. We believe in the power of positive thinking and all our positive energy is beginning to work. We are so very humbled and grateful for all of the kindness that you have expressed. We did not know how we would get through this until God sent us a group of Angels to help us through. Thank you Angels everyday is a blessing that we all must cherish. Thank you for your love and support. Now let us pray for a full recovery for Nicholas.

Fundraising info

From http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/ni...reed/journal/2

A fundraiser has been set up in honor of Nick by Anthony Marino, Founder & Editor in Chief of Audizine.com. These are cool t-shirts and with the first 200 shirts sold, the entire $15 selling price of the t-shirt will go to the Reed family. After the first 200 are sold, $5 will go to pay costs of the shirts and $10 will go to the Reed family. This is a great deal and a nice way to show our support for our friend Nick.

Here is the link for ordering and more info! Thanks Anthony- what a thoughtful and great idea!

[denmother]

Wednesday, January 13, 2010 9:02 AM, CST


Here's an update from Steve & Teri last night from bedside:

Powerful prayer and loving care yielded some positive progress today. Nurses were successful in weaning down Nick's sedation quite a bit. Ativan is 1 mg, Fentanyl is 50 mcg, Propophol is 25mcg. The doctors are impressed with how well he is tolerating these new levels as they continue to reduce his dependency on the breathing machine. His blood oxidation saturation rate is holding strong at 97-98 out of 100, while the FIo2 is now at 55% and the PEEP is at 10. All new and improved numbers. He had a chemo vacation today and tomorrow, treatment will resume on Thursday. Thanks for all of the love you guys are sending Nick's way. He is floating on a sea of prayer.