please help!

[backbacon]

Hi people. It has recently come to my attention that a young man from Chatham needs our help. Patrick Oxley, a 24 year old man is in dire need of funds in order for him to receive a bone marrow transplant. $160,000 is needed for the transplant. At this time I believe $50,000 has been raised.

I was reminded that Patrick was in my grade one class a couple of days ago when I saw his picture on the television. I felt compelled to do what I could to help out.

I've opened an account at Scotia Bank to accept donations. On March 18th, I will take the funds raised and transfer them to the main Fund Raising account. I've done it this way in order to track the progress of the drive.

This is the account number of the account I opened for donations:

ACCT# 45146 00597 22

Please donate what you can at your local branch by depositing into this account.

If it is a problem getting to a Scotia Bank where you are, please feel free to send donations to me in the mail. I will make the deposits into the account daily as they arrive.

Please send to:

Patrick Fund

C/o Keri Kennedy

23432 Prince Albert Road

Chatham, ON N7M 5J1

Here is a link to the site with information about the main patrick Oxley fund raising effort:

http://www.tooltimerentalsandrepair.com/pats_story1.html

After the drive I am organizing closes and I have transferred the funds to the main account, I will post on the above site the amount raised as being from “The Canadian Phish Community.

I really appreciate everyones efforts in supporting this cause as I’m sure does Patrick and his Family.

Sincerely,

Keri Kennedy

<*//><

Here is a picture from my 6th birthday Party. *I am not in the picture. I’ve put an arrow pointing to Patrick:

This is what I picked up at the bank today when I was setting up the account. I believe it is from Patrick’s Mom. I retyped it word for word:

Patrick was born July 30th in Chatham, at Public General Hospital. He attended Victor Lauriston School and then John McGregor. He attended the University of Waterloo for one year and then returned to Chatham to attend St. Clair College in the Mechatronics course. After graduating he accepted a position with C.I.S. Robotics in Windsor.

In July of 2001, he started to feel like he had a flu bug that just wouldn’t go away. Just two days after his 24th birthday he developed severe back pain and went to the emergency unit at Windsor Regional Hospital. Here on his father’s birthday, he was diagnosed with Leukemia. At first the diagnosis was Acute Lymphatic Leukemia. The doctor said that it was easily treatable and he’d be back to work in a year. But, three weeks into the treatment the doctor announced that he in fact had Philadelphia Chromosome. A diagnosis that no Leukemia patient ever wants to hear. The Philadelphia Chromosome develops when Chromosome 9 and 22 accidentally touch while cells are dividing and forming a fetus. The result is a gene that produces a protein that causes Leukemia. The only way to stop it is a bone marrow transplant. The transplant needs to be done as soon as possible because the disease keeps getting more and more aggressive.

Next comes the search for a donor. Crystal, Patrick’s sister, was the first one tested. There was only a 25% chance that she would match. Patrick was sure she wouldn’t, but she did. In fact, she is a 6 out of 6 match. We wanted to proceed right to the transplant at that time but were told there was a waiting list and he would have to wait his turn. Finally, in October we had an appointment at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto. Here we were given a January date and told that if they couldn’t do it by the first of January, they would make arrangements for somewhere else. Well, January turned out to be too far off because Patrick came out of remission the first of November. We were told by his doctor in Windsor that he was going to try a new drug Gleevec, designed to target the Philadelphia chromosome and kill it. The only problem was that no one would pay for it. At first the doctors office had a supply that they gave him while we were waiting for a approval from the Ontario Government for a section 8. Then Dec. 22 we got word that the government had turned him down citing the fact the drug only had been approved for CML and not ALL. His Green Shield had long since refused to pay for it so it was time for us to pay. It cost $3400 for a 20 day supply. We contacted every agency in Ontario to try to get help but to no avail. We contacted the adjudicator who made the decision to deny his claim. We contacted the office of Pat Hoy and they immediately got a letter off to the Health Minister. Just before we needed another 20 day supply we were told by Patrick’s doctors office that he had gotten approval on Jan 3 for his section 8.

Meanwhile he was being tested every two weeks to see if his bone marrow was in remission so the transplant could go ahead for the 30th of January. The test involves inserting a needle into the bone marrow in his hip and removing the bone marrow for testing. On January __ his FISH, which is the test name for Philadelphia Chromosome, was 0. We had been promised by the head of the transplant team that the day after he was 0 they would go ahead with the transplant. Instead he had to travel to Toronto for dental appointments and respiratory tests. He started to run fevers after the two days of running around Toronto hospital. When we arrived on the 24th of January for him to be admitted he was running a fever. They thought that he had picked up a virus and the chemo would take care of it. His chemo was to start the next morning at 6 a.m.. He was to have 3 days of chemo followed by 3 days of radiation. On that 3rd day of radiation he would receive Crystal’s bone marrow in the form of a transfusion. After 4-6 weeks in the hospital he would be allowed to stay in Toronto at Crystal’s for another 2 months. When his white count came back up to normal he would be allowed to go back home.

They had taken blood counts after he arrived which showed an elevated white count. That meant he was relapsing. At 9:30 that morning they went into his room and told him they would not do the transplant. They refused to offer any treatment. His doctor admitted that they cold have gone ahead with the transplant if they had wanted. He said their decision was based on his high risk as an ALL positive Philadelphia Chromosome patient and financial considerations. They did not treat him until his until his white count skyrocketed two days later. One cocktail of chemo brought the counts down to almost 0. We told them that we would seek another opinion from Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit, Michigan. The doctor quite smugly told us that OHIP wouldn’t pay because they would tell them that he is not a viable candidate. After contacting Dr. Shiffer at Karmanos, we learned that they would in fact go ahead with a transplant when he is in stable condition. The cost will be $100,000 US. We will be seeking a consultation with them hopefully next week. We have also been in contact with Duke University in North Carolina. They also indicated that they would go forth with a transplant when he is stable. Pat is presently in Windsor Regional Hospital under the care of Dr. John Curtis, Hematologist. He is feeling much better and looking forward to a chance at life.

[meggo]

hey keri that's really nice of you, i 'll send a cheque over to you.

love megs

[Im going home Donny]

...BGEEESUS 'Bacon...scuse me while I gather my shit...I don't have much but i will B sure 2 hit the bank w/what I can...screw the student loan collectors...

[backbacon]

Thanks very much Meggo and Howler

[backbacon]

Hi. Harpua brought up the idea of starting a chain letter that Sanctuarians can email to their friends and family. I thought it was a great idea.

Also, I will make the deposit into the main account on March 13th, instead of March 18th. If you are going to contribute, please do so before then. For people who are going to send me a cheque, I will find out tomorrow if you should make it out to me or if I can have it so you can make it out to "Patrick Oxley Trust Fund" and I can still put it in the account that's in my name.

Thanks for reading.

Keri

Perhaps people could send this as their message:

(Let me know if it's too long or any improvements can be made.)

-------------------------------------------------

Subject: YOUNG MAN NEEDS OUR HELP!

A YOUNG MAN FROM CHATHAM, ONTARIO NEEDS OUR HELP. Patrick Oxley, a 24 year old man is in dire need of funds in order for him to receive a bone marrow transplant. $160,000 is needed for the transplant. At this time (Feb 27th) $89,191 has been raised.

PLEASE HELP IN SAVING HIS LIFE.

DONATIONS ACCEPTED AT ANY BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA

PATRICK OXLEY TRUST FUND

ACCOUNT# 45146-0020729

FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL (519)351-5639, 351-3388, 351-8095

The "Patrick Oxley Trust Fund" was started on February 7th 2002. The idea was to raise money for Patrick to receive a bone marrow transplant in the United States. Since that day the support for Patrick has been phenomenal!

The people of Chatham - Kent have been more than willing to donate their time, efforts and money to ensure that Patrick gets his chance at life.

The generosity of individuals, businesses and organizations is very much appreciated and will never be forgotten.

Special thanks go to our local media, who recognize the urgency of this situation and responded immediately, without hesitation.

The Oxley family can't thank you enough!

Keith, Ruth Ann, Patrick, Michelle & Crystal

This is the link to the "Patrick Oxley Trust Fund" site:

http://www.tooltimerentalsandrepair.com/pats_story1.html

This letter, giving further details of Patrick's situation, is from Patrick's mother:

Patrick was born July 30th in Chatham, at Public General Hospital. He attended Victor Lauriston School and then John McGregor. He attended the University of Waterloo for one year and then returned to Chatham to attend St. Clair College in the Mechatronics course. After graduating he accepted a position with C.I.S. Robotics in Windsor.

In July of 2001, he started to feel like he had a flu bug that just wouldn’t go away. Just two days after his 24th birthday he developed severe back pain and went to the emergency unit at Windsor Regional Hospital. Here on his father’s birthday, he was diagnosed with Leukemia. At first the diagnosis was Acute Lymphatic Leukemia. The doctor said that it was easily treatable and he’d be back to work in a year. But, three weeks into the treatment the doctor announced that he in fact had Philadelphia Chromosome. A diagnosis that no Leukemia patient ever wants to hear. The Philadelphia Chromosome develops when Chromosome 9 and 22 accidentally touch while cells are dividing and forming a fetus. The result is a gene that produces a protein that causes Leukemia. The only way to stop it is a bone marrow transplant. The transplant needs to be done as soon as possible because the disease keeps getting more and more aggressive.

Next comes the search for a donor. Crystal, Patrick’s sister, was the first one tested. There was only a 25% chance that she would match. Patrick was sure she wouldn’t, but she did. In fact, she is a 6 out of 6 match. We wanted to proceed right to the transplant at that time but were told there was a waiting list and he would have to wait his turn. Finally, in October we had an appointment at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto. Here we were given a January date and told that if they couldn’t do it by the first of January, they would make arrangements for somewhere else. Well, January turned out to be too far off because Patrick came out of remission the first of November. We were told by his doctor in Windsor that he was going to try a new drug Gleevec, designed to target the Philadelphia chromosome and kill it. The only problem was that no one would pay for it. At first the doctors office had a supply that they gave him while we were waiting for a approval from the Ontario Government for a section 8. Then Dec. 22 we got word that the government had turned him down citing the fact the drug only had been approved for CML and not ALL. His Green Shield had long since refused to pay for it so it was time for us to pay. It cost $3400 for a 20 day supply. We contacted every agency in Ontario to try to get help but to no avail. We contacted the adjudicator who made the decision to deny his claim. We contacted the office of Pat Hoy and they immediately got a letter off to the Health Minister. Just before we needed another 20 day supply we were told by Patrick’s doctors office that he had gotten approval on Jan 3 for his section 8.

Meanwhile he was being tested every two weeks to see if his bone marrow was in remission so the transplant could go ahead for the 30th of January. The test involves inserting a needle into the bone marrow in his hip and removing the bone marrow for testing. On January __ his FISH, which is the test name for Philadelphia Chromosome, was 0. We had been promised by the head of the transplant team that the day after he was 0 they would go ahead with the transplant. Instead he had to travel to Toronto for dental appointments and respiratory tests. He started to run fevers after the two days of running around Toronto hospital. When we arrived on the 24th of January for him to be admitted he was running a fever. They thought that he had picked up a virus and the chemo would take care of it. His chemo was to start the next morning at 6 a.m.. He was to have 3 days of chemo followed by 3 days of radiation. On that 3rd day of radiation he would receive Crystal’s bone marrow in the form of a transfusion. After 4-6 weeks in the hospital he would be allowed to stay in Toronto at Crystal’s for another 2 months. When his white count came back up to normal he would be allowed to go back home.

They had taken blood counts after he arrived which showed an elevated white count. That meant he was relapsing. At 9:30 that morning they went into his room and told him they would not do the transplant. They refused to offer any treatment. His doctor admitted that they cold have gone ahead with the transplant if they had wanted. He said their decision was based on his high risk as an ALL positive Philadelphia Chromosome patient and financial considerations. They did not treat him until his until his white count skyrocketed two days later. One cocktail of chemo brought the counts down to almost 0. We told them that we would seek another opinion from Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit, Michigan. The doctor quite smugly told us that OHIP wouldn’t pay because they would tell them that he is not a viable candidate. After contacting Dr. Shiffer at Karmanos, we learned that they would in fact go ahead with a transplant when he is in stable condition. The cost will be $100,000 US. We will be seeking a consultation with them hopefully next week. We have also been in contact with Duke University in North Carolina. They also indicated that they would go forth with a transplant when he is stable. Pat is presently in Windsor Regional Hospital under the care of Dr. John Curtis, Hematologist. He is feeling much better and looking forward to a chance at life.

[bouche]

I don't think chain letters are a good way to do things. Most people dismiss them. They are considered spam, and will drop the legitimacy of your drive. I would suggest that you stay away from doing that. You're better off to make a page with all of the info, and maybe have that link mailed around.

Why not get an account through PayPal?

You can set that up quite easily and all you need is a link that points to the paypal account. Make a small graphic 100 x 60 perhaps that a few friendly sites could put up.

[meggo]

hi keri - 2 things:

i deposited the cheque here, turns out there are scotiabanks out here. also, you probably already know but i wanted to make sure:

the new deal:

Fri 03/08/02 Kitchener, ON Lyric Theatre

Sat 03/09/02 London, ON The Wave

take care sweet pea!

[backbacon]

Hey Sugar Megs.

Thanks for your support.

Yeah, I'm going to check out tND in London on the 9th. Looking forward to it. Ratdog tomorrow. Bork Nelson on Saturady. North Mississippi Allstars in TO on the 11th. I'm on break from school that week. I haven't looked into any shows past that for fear I'll get in over my head and forget to go back to school! I'm sure a couple more will pop up on my week off though.

You coming back for May 2-4?

Take it easy out there then.

Love Keri

[Harpua]

Well,

I did the chain email thing, and it seems to have worked out in this case. If you send the chain email to people you know then its all good, its when you see that its just forwarded and forwarded, etc from strangers that it doesn't work. Anyways, put your money where you mouth is, and check out this reply I just got back from my Mom regarding the chain email that I sent out.

===============================================

Just thought I'd let you know, as of 4pm when I left the bank (leaving a donation) the new balance in the trust account is

$130,000.00 !! Your email said it was $89,000.00 yesterday. Great stuff. Thanks for letting us be a part of this young man's story.

love always Mom

================================================

Ah, at least 1 person in this world loves me.

GP

[backbacon]

Hi everone. I thought I'd give everyone a little update on the Patrick Oxley drive:

I heard on the radio today that they are up to:

$144,000 That is just great.

However, the doctor who is doing to transplant recently upped the price on them. They now need to raise $220,000. They are still only hoping to raise $160,000 and the rest they are going to finance by mortaging their house.

As for the account I set up; I just checked the balance and it is at $45.00. Thanks to everyone who donated.

I asked at the bank who to make out cheques to that will be deposited into the account I set up. They will need to made out to me: Keri Kennedy.

I will still be accepting donations until March 13th, when I will be transfering to the main account.

Harpua, your Mom rocks! I like your idea with the chain letter. I also agree with Bouche. It is not, in my opinion, a good idea to forward the letter to everyone in your address book but to some closer friends and family members that you feel comfortable sending this to, I don't think it would be too invasive.

Thanks too Bouche for your idea of having an info page with the PayPal link. I don't, however, think I'm going to get that involved. My idea was to simply expand on what I was going to donate by asking the kind people on this board. I'm happy with as much as that happens to be.

Again, if you are gong to donate through Scotia Bank:

ACCT# 45146 00597 22

If you are going to send me a cheque:

Payable to: Keri Kennedy

My address:

Patrick Oxley Fund

c/o Keri Kennedy

23432 Prince Albert Road

Chatham, ON N7M 5J1

Canada

Thanks everyone.

keri

Have a GREAT day!