In Our Hearts
Can you imagine a nine-year-old boy saying “thank you” to a nurse after getting an injection? That was Santiago Rozo. We will never forget this incredibly fun and mature young boy! It was impossible not to fall in love with his intelligence and sense of humor – he never missed the joke, even in the hardest moments of chemotherapy.
What an inspiration of love and strength that will help us keep working to save other children and adults in need of a bone marrow transplant.
Santi was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of 4. After four years fighting leukemia on his native Colombia, doctors said there was nothing else they could do. That’s when Santi’s loving parents Patricia and William left everything behind (what else matters when you need to save your son’s life?) and moved to New York City. Only a bone marrow transplant could save Santi and the treatment wasn’t available in their home country. We held many marrow drives for Santi within the Colombian community in NY – we couldn’t find our Colombian boy a match and he wasn’t able to get into remission (mandatory for the transplant to happen). But we hope that through one of these many drives other children like him were able to find a match and have a second chance in life.
We will always miss Santi, but we also have wonderful memories of his last year in New York City. He celebrated his 9th birthday on a helicopter flight over Manhattan and had his first communion in a Catholic church in Queens. Thanks for all these special moments, Santi!
We love you. Forever.
To watch a little video of Santi on his first communion, click here.
Irery Pinon, 11, dreamt to be a fashion designer. A child born in a Mexican family that has lived in the United States for over twenty years, Irery showed a great deal of courage and feisty spirit as she fought leukemia.
None of Irery’s siblings were a match for her and the only hope for this young girl was to find a compatible bone marrow donor in the Be The Match Registry. With the help of The Icla da Silva Foundation, family members and friends organized hundred of marrow drives around the country, hoping they would find someone that would give Irery a second chance in life. Sadly, Irery never found a matching donor and passed away in early March 2010.