Wednesday, December 24, 2003
He admits he was uneasy about the potential for prolonged pain.
By WILLIAM K. ALCORN
VINDICATOR HEALTH WRITER
AUSTINTOWN -- Donating life-saving bone marrow to a 17-year-old boy with cancer has made this a very special Christmas for Air Force Reserve Capt. Brent J. Davis and the young recipient.
"Pain is temporary. Giving somebody another 50 or 60 years of life, that's big," said Davis, public information officer for the 910th Airlift Wing at the Youngstown Air Reserve Station in Vienna. His civilian title is director of public information.
"This Christmas is taking on new meaning. I'm already pulling myself away from the commercialization," said Davis, 36, of Austintown, before he went to Washington, D.C., on Dec. 8 for the bone marrow extraction.
Davis, who grew up in the Cleveland suburb of Westlake, was on active duty in the Air Force for 10 years before becoming a civilian Department of Defense employee and a member of the Air Force Reserve six years ago.
"You live your life, but time goes by so quickly. You want to look back and see you have done something selfless and something you didn't have to do," said Davis, explaining why he volunteered for the painful process.
"Hopefully, this will help this boy have a full life and he will make the right choices," said Davis, who was interviewed before and after he made the donation.
Donor program
Also, Davis admitted ruefully, he felt sort of obligated to get into the DOD's C.W. Bill Young Bone Marrow Donor Program after he put articles in the base paper, The Airstream, in summer 2002 asking military personnel to register for the program.
The program coordinates medical and logistical support for DOD personnel who volunteer to donate marrow. It makes accommodations for travel and pays to have family or a friend accompany the volunteer during the procedure.
Some 200 of the 1,400 reservists at the Vienna air base gave blood samples and signed up for the donor list, Davis said.
"It was a big success, getting that many people to register," Davis said. "But to tell the truth, I forgot all about it until about two months ago when I got a phone call saying I was a possible match. I was really surprised."
His blood was tested again for a match, and in mid-November the DOD flew Davis to Georgetown University Hospital for "more blood work and to sign more papers."
Called to duty
Davis returned home but received a call soon after that to go to Washington on Dec. 8 to donate his marrow the next day to help a 17-year-old boy who has non-Hodgkins lymphoma.
Davis admitted he was uneasy about being put under general anesthesia at the hospital and hesitant about the potential for prolonged pain associated with the procedure.
"But when I heard it was a 17-year-old, I figured it was worth it," Davis said. "I kind of made the decision without my wife at first, but then after about a day or so, I sat down with her and asked her how she felt about it. She is a woman of faith and felt this was what God wanted."
He said his 10-year-old daughter, Lainne, was a little worried at first that "I might not come out of it," but when it was explained she understood.
Davis and his wife, Sonya, also have a son, Justin, 8.
"The DOD won't tell me who the boy is until they know the transplant has worked," Davis said. He was told, though, that the youth lives about a five-hour drive south of the nation's capital.
Connecting
When permitted, Davis said he plans to contact the young man. In the meantime, he was allowed to send the youth a letter. Davis addressed it to a "brave, courageous young man. I am honored and privileged to be able to help you recover and fulfill your dreams," Davis wrote. He also sent him a set of captains bars and a CD of contemporary Christian music.
Before the extraction procedure, Davis admitted to some anticipation and anxiety.
"I laid in bed at night wondering how it was going to go ... and about putting myself in painful situation I didn't have to," he said. "I hoped I would be recovered and healthy for Christmas."
Unexpected meeting
An unexpected bonus happened during his trip to Washington. As he was getting out of a cab at the airport to leave for Ohio, a woman asked him if he was military and if he was wounded.
It turned out to be C. W. Bill Young's wife, Beverly. He saw her again in the airport food court, and she arranged for Davis to talk with her husband, a U.S. congressman from Florida and founder of the DOD bone marrow program.
"It just was a really neat experience; and the doctors feel confident the transplant will save this boy's life," Davis said.
He said it is supposed to take about a month for the body to replace the bone marrow and a while longer to repair the muscle, tissue and bone damage.
He said a big syringe was attached to a small auger -- a tube with an angled and pointed end -- with which doctors created holes in the hip bones through which the marrow was extracted. Davis donated 11/2 liters, the maximum amount allowed. The process took about 90 minutes, he said.
"It looks like I have two bullet holes in each hip," he said.
Davis said it is amazing the number of military people who are willing to volunteer for the difficult process and said he represents one of thousands who would do the same thing if the opportunity arose.
"You never know when you might need help yourself," he said. "If it was my child, I hope there would be somebody out there to volunteer."
alcorn@vindy.com