Bravest battle

Frontiersman

On May 7, Alicia and Steven Dunham went to church with their sons, Connor, 2, Carson, now 8 months old. Like a lot of 2-year-olds, Connor had a bit of a cold, but the Dunhams didn't think much of it. Little did they know that Sunday morning would be the start of 48 hours that would change the rest of their family's lives

forever.

The next day, Monday, Alicia went to work as usual, and her mother was watching Connor. Her mother called her to say he wasn't feeling well, so like a good parent, she took him to the doctor's office, where he tested positive for strept throat and was put on antibiotics, something nearly every parent of a young child has experienced at least once.

The next day, however, everything changed. Suddenly, Connor didn't want to put weight on his legs and refused to walk - something very out of the ordinary for a toddler. A trip to Providence ensued, and an initial test showed a white blood count of 45,000, extremely high. By the end of the day, the family was in Seattle, where Connor was diagnosed with ALL.

&#8220Your whole life changes in a few minutes,” Alicia said from Seattle Cancer Care Alliance Center late last week. &#8220I had to call in to work and say Connor was sick and I wasn't coming in that day. Then I had to call them back and say he has leukemia and that I may not be back for year. Our whole life changed in 48 crazy hours.”

Connor and the family are doing well in Seattle, but they don't have any plans on returning home anytime soon. More immediate - a bone marrow transplant, scheduled for later this month in Seattle.

Happy toddler

Connor's bald head is the only indication that he is a leukemia patient. He's a happy little child, with a smile almost as big as his cheeks.

&#8220This is all he knows right now, and how do you explain what is happening to a 3-year-old?” Alicia said. &#8220He thinks this is a normal life, because it's all he's known.

&#8220He's doing all the things a kid his age does - he throws fits now and then, he's happy most of the time,” she said. &#8220But every day is a new challenge.”

While Connor undergoes chemotherapy, his family is staying in an apartment at The Ronald McDonald House at The Children's Hospital in Seattle. Each day brings with it a new round of tests, more chemotherapy for young Connor, and a renewed look at life for the family.

A.L.L.

Connor was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (or Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia), which is the most common form of leukemia in young children.

ALL is a fast-growing cancer of the white blood cells, which are used to fight off infections in a person's body. When a person has ALL, their bone marrow makes lots of unformed cells, called blasts, that normally would develop into lymphocytes. The blasts are abnormal, however, and don't develop, subsequently leaving them unable to fight infections.

Because the cells grow quickly, the force out the normal red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets the body needs to function

properly.

Often, as in Connor's case, chemotherapy is a viable treatment option. Other treatments include radiation therapy and a bone marrow or cord blood transplant.

Connor has two big things going for him right now - first, his latest bone marrow test revealed just a .03 percent presence of leukemia - great, when compared to the 3 percent result during his last test.

The second piece of good news is that there is a donor who is a near match for him.

Transplant time

Initially, Connor had a close match for a cord blood transplant. Of the six markers tested, five were matches, which is good news. Then, the family received even better news - there was a 9.5 of 10 match from an adult bone marrow donor living in Europe.

&#8220With cord blood, it comes from a newborn whose immune system isn't fully developed, so to have an adult donor match, it was just amazing,” Alicia said. &#8220It's wonderful news for us.”

Doctors are trying to keep Connor's marrow stable through treatments leading up the transplant, which is currently scheduled for Sept. 27.

&#8220They are going to be doing a lot of tests to make sure Connor's organs are capable of dealing with the transplant,” Alicia said. &#8220It's very exciting, but it's also scary for us.”

Finding a donor

The National Bone Marrow Registry has 6 million people signed up already, but finding a match isn't as simple as picking a name. That's particularly true for patients who are minorities, or mixed races.

Signing up for the registry is simple, and on Sept. 8, people can do it at the Public Safety Building in Wasilla as part of the Light the Night Walk (see related story).

&#8220Signing up for the registry is the simplest thing you can do to save someone's life,” said Kelly Marre, who lost a son to leukemia and has organized the Wasilla event for four years.

All that is required is a swab of someone's cheek, and perhaps a small donation of blood. Alicia Dunham said Connor's experience has shown her how important it is to sign up for the registry.

&#8220I'm embarrassed to say that I wasn't on the list before. It's such a simple procedure now, and people should know they could save someone's life - someone like Connor - if they are a match.

&#8220Don't hold back. I never thought this would happen to me or my family. You never know if you or your family will need a transplant,” Alicia

continued.

The donation process involves the removal of marrow from a donor, a surgical process that takes between 45 and 90 minutes. Donors are in the hospital for less than a week usually. The marrow taken out of a donor's body regenerates within a few weeks.

What's next

Following Connor's scheduled transplant on Sept. 27, the family will stay in Seattle with him through January, at the earliest. But a lot is going to be happening during that time, outside of the countless medical tests and procedures Connor will be undergoing in

Seattle.

Back in Wasilla, a major home remodeling project will have to take place first, to make sure the home is entirely germ-free for Connor. That includes removal and replacement of all carpeting and flooring, Alicia said.

The family has been encouraged by the results of the tests and the potential transplant.

Those wanting to help the Dunhams can do so in a very simple way.

When shopping at Carrs/Safeway, use their home phone number - 907-376-5470 - at the checkout stand. For every $250 spent, the family will receive 125 Alaska Airline miles to help cover some of the travel costs.

People can also stay abreast of Connor's progress at the Web site www.connor

dunham.com. At the site, people can also make donations to the Dunham family using a PayPal account, to help cover medical and travel costs associated with the transplant.

Contact Casey Ressler at

352-2265 or valleylife@

frontiersman.com.