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HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL OLIVIA From page tA They’ve all had their lives changed in a way they could never have anticipated. It began in early September. Olivia had a cough. At first it didn’t sound like much, but then it got worse. As Alan puts it, “It was wretch ed, over and over.” She got a fever that spiked up to 104. It was a Sunday, so her mother took her to one of the local Med Stops, where she was given anti biotics. The antibiotics didn’t help. A few days later, she was still coughing, and she still had a fever. She was pale and list less. Her parents took her to her pediatrician. A chest X-ray turned out fine, but the blood test ordered by the doctor gave the first indication that something was terribly wrong. Olivia’s hemoglobin (red blood cell) level was perilously low, and her doc tor thought it could be leu kemia. She was admitted that day to the hospital in Macon the same day. There she was diagnosed with a type of leukemia that usually strikes adults, not HONOR From page jB Boyd, Clayton Bridges, Jessica Burroughs, Nicole Callery, Chloe Cecchini, Lauren Clark, Michael Cooper, Cassandra Daniel, Leah Daughtry, Scott Dyke, Savannah Ellison, Sylvia Epps, Antonio Flowe, Dana Frazier, Fleath Gill, Michael Gonzalez, Austen Hall, Travis Huttner, Philip Jones, Taylor Jones, Zachary Kinsley, Garrett Kline, Savannah Lehocky, Raymond Lemmert, Jacob Lukemire, Haiden Mancil, Riley Mastenbrook, Alyssa Matusiak, Sara Me Fadyen, Tyler Mercer, Forrester Mercier, Emilee Merritt, Rachel Miller, Christina Moffitt, Andrew Montano, Mckenzie Moore, Ashley Moorer, Brayden Mount, Jaimie Mueller, Lauren Nuclo, Sabrina Park, Anam Patel, Madison Raley, Aarjavi Raval, Adam Schoch, Clayton Seigel, Lucinda Shaffer, Marya Shone, Karina Smith, Suzanne Smith, Matthew Stagg, Jamie Terry, Megan Vaughn, Samantha Volkert, Briana Waldo, Chad Walker, Griffin Warner, Kayla Wortman, Mathew Wright Eighth Grade - Kelli Ackerman, Jazmyn Baxter, Wryleigh Bergstrom, Otis Boyd, Brooke Brinson, Arthur Bui, Nicolas Cecchini, Ramanda Chapman, Brandon Clark, Brittney Crockett, Vaszja Dawson, Sarah Everton, Morgan Giddens, Jacob Gramling, Lindsey Harman, Caroline Harrington, Danielle Hau, Kara Humphreys, Sanket Jani, Lucas Kinser, Sarah Kukshtel, Sarah Lovelace, Kelsi Ludicke, George Maney, Alexa Mangus, Melissa Mitchell, Lindsay Moneypenny, Michael Moniz, Tracy Nowak, Ashton Paris, Jay Patel, Milan Patel, Ryan Powell, Virginia Pressnell, Kayci Price, Shevah Rezaee, Stephanie Sorrell, Chandler Stroman, Anna Taylor, Donald Weaver, Nadia Wehbe, Charles Wilbanks, Nicole Wongk, Landon Wood, Fredrick Yuan Honorable Mention Sixth Grade - Elizabeth Ashwood, Austin Bailey, Tazia Banks, Elijah Bennett, Emily Bratcher, Kristina Bravo, Larry Burden, Ethan Clarke, Hayley Conway, Alyssa Cowart, Allisa Davis, Joshua Dilorenzo, Kelsey Eller, Megan Evors, Carlie Farmer, Evan Fegan, lan Filer, Robert •Flewellyn, Kaitlyn Fulton, Jamie Gamboa, Elliot Gardner, Brittany Gordon, Gloria Halstead, Hunter Hardin, Sydnie Hicks, Kirsten Kim, Kendall Knighton, Kyle Land, Sarah Laumann, Vidal Lowe, Franklin Mosely, Sean Murray, Jimya Oglesby, Parth Patel, Andy Phan, Zachary Phelps, Molly Pierce, Tamira Royster, Brittany Ryan, Michael Silverstruck, Logan Smith, Yuri Smith, Christy Tarallo, Taylor Toms, Adrian Vazquez, Daryl Vining, Jordan Wilkins, Alexandria Williams, Lanisha Wilson, Cedric Windom Seventh Grade- Jacquelynne Bailey, Sydney Bohannon, Devin Bush, Michael Byrne, Kaylan Cleaton, Hannah Cowles, Kallen Dees, Jordan Dishman, Heather Dunman, Brittanie Edwards, Rebecca Grantham, Janie-Elys Hanson, Alexa Luper, Immy Mahitab, Lauren Me Cullough, Brianna Me Mullin, Amelia Mercado, David Merrifield, Benjamin Morris, Macy Moulder, Cody Reese, Jessica Scroggs, Jason Shipp, Christine Smith, Zachariah Smith, children. Leukemia is a cancer of the cells that form blood. AML, the type of leukemia Olivia has, requires that doc tors take aggressive action, bombarding her bone mar row with chemotherapy to search out and destroy the cancer cells. This treatment, destroys the bone marrow and weakens an already weakened immune system, but it’s the only way to fight AML. As Cindy Culpepper explains it, there isn’t really a cure. There’s just a big struggle for remission. Though there are risks, a bone marrow transplant is a possible future option. Olivia’s parents, as well as her brother and sister, have been tested to see if their marrow is a match for Olivia’s. “We don’t have a match,” Cindy says, explaining that there was little chance that there would be one. Eventually if a donor is found it will be through the national bone marrow reg istry. A match would mean that a stranger somewhere has signed up and been test ed just in case his or her donation could save a life. Cindy encourages everyone who can to be a bone mar row donor, which requires a Blake Sydnor, Andrew Van Bibber, Monica Villagomez, Austin Wallace, Lovic Wasson, Lemuel Watts, Karyssa Wurster Eighth Grade - Alec Brown, Grant Busbee, Kimberly Coleman, Chanell Eargle, Morgan Eubanks, Robert Fisher, Jennifer Glaze, Niara Hall, Tyler Hall, Albert Hong, Kelli Jackson, Jillian Jarrett, Ashley Kirby, Joshua Knighton, Brittany Me Carty, Christina Newsome, Brett Niemantsverdriet, Daquille Peppers, Khanh Pham, Jasmine Pratts, Joshua Rogers, Nolan Rozell, Jessica Russell, Lauryn Sheeley, Haley Shelnutt, Brandon Shoulta, Bryce Stallworth, Heather Stuckey, Zachary Taylor, Allysa Valerio, Timothie Warren, Sebastian Webb, Samantha Wheeler, Walter Wilson, Brandi Wood Huntington Middle School Honor Roll Sixth Grade - Christopher Ashment, Ashleigh Austel, Sahera Bader, Shakera Bader, Halie Bowden, Kaitlyn Cochran, Benjamin Crawford, Brian Decker, Taylor Fauth, Martin Garay-Moreno, Raquel Gonzalez, Catherine Greene, Mary Hall, Krysten Hayes, Keeli Jones, Jeremy Karch, Idashia Kemp, Elizabeth Kim, Summer Kurtz, Kimble Leanhart, Kathryn Martin, Benjamin Masters, Jazmin Me Coy, Dustin Moroney, Christina Murray, Ashlyn Nobles, Jennifer Oberstadt, Yasmeen Pagan, Christopher Page, Kara Robinson, Logan Saunders, Aaliyah Sebero, Kelley Thompson, Lynnette Torres, Cheyene Willard, Maia Wilson Seventh Grade - Steven Bentley, Alexis Brahn, Haley Brudnicki, Toni Cranford, Rachel Darsey, Margaret Dimes, Peyton Dunnaway, Sydney Groves, Lori Herbranson, Evan Hops, Ashley Hotchkiss, Lekendra Kidd, Natasha Killian, Kristen Kramer, Hong-Ju Lee, Lauren Leever, Zakiya Lewis, Jessica Logue, Domenic Luppino, Kaitlyn Main, Nicolle Mathison, Austin Meeks, Morgan Meilinger, Tu Pham, Justin Plott, Rachel Pollreis, Jacob Pope, Christine Rosenbaum, Arabia Sampson, Courtney Smith, Natalie Suckow, Taylor Swain, Matthew Tatman, Donkor Taylor, Jaichelle Thomas, Nyesha Turner, Sonya Uddin, James Walker, Catherine Wood Eighth Grade - Steven Brown, Taylor Carroll, Catherine Chamberlain, Mark Ellgass, Cody Fauth, Rowellian Flores, Brittni Foskey, Noelle Greata, Madison Hollifield, Natasha Laballe, Breland Lee, Kristine Martin, Jacob Masters, Eboni Me Laurie, Jordan Patrick, Kaili Radisich, Jovian Santiago, Thomas Wilkason, Ellen Ziesenhene Huntington Middle School Honorable Mention Sixth Grade - Debone Allen, Carolyn Bates, Christian Baumler, Jasmine Bieker, Morgan Bloodworth, Sophia Brumfield, Kaitlin Burns, David Carroll, Victoria Cunningham, Ryan Finley, Alma Flores, Jaris Ford, Samuel Glass, Chandler Green, Sterling Hardin, Jay-Ce Heisig, Preston Hogan, Anna Jackson, Chandrell Jackson, Jane Jordan, Joshua King, Kayla Kleckley, Christopher Mangham, Amanda Mason, Samantha Miller, Christopher Philips, Declan Poorman, Teryn Rumph, Kayla Savage, Ashley Swogger, Sidarien Thomas, Tanisha Walker, Alana Waller, Brandon Womble, Farbod Zahiri simple blood test. This isn’t just about her own child’s needs, either. It’s about all the children waiting for a marrow donor. She points out that marrow matches are found within the same ethnic groups and races, and that African-American donors are in very short sup ply They also want to encour age support of the Ronald McDonald House in Macon, which they all agree was a wonderful home-away-from home, offering comfort, sup port and a place to stay, and even free parking within walking distance of the hos pital. This is a young family that’s used to being inde pendent, but they need all the support they can get in this crisis. Olivia’s battle has really just begun. She’ll be going back again for more rounds of chemo, according to her mom, whose career as an RN has taken a turn she never expected - toward pro viding both a mother’s care and a nurse’s care for her youngest child, giving her daily injections, and taking turns with her husband at long hospital vigils. Alan Culpepper, a water plant operator for the City Seventh Grade - Sierra Donavant, Rachel Frazier, Darquelle Gooch, Aaliyah Herbert, Romello Hillsman, Rainy Kerle, Nicholas Kregeloh, Kyle Leanhart, Heidi Loan, Gabriela Losoya, Marcus Me Clain, Jennifer Munoz, Ashley Murton, Adam Ortiz, Yonshica Page, Aubrey Peebles. Curtisha Riley, Alexis Wigmore, Courtney Winn Eighth Grade-Timothy Baker, Denzel Batore, Ashley Clarke, Karen Degraphenreid, Tyler Devoursney, Gabrielle Dorman, Holly Fant, Kaylah Hagler, Taylor Haynes, Sarah Hollifield, Amber Livesay, Samantha Lowe, Heather Pennycuff, Cornal Pounds, Matthew Richardson, Jacquelyn Simmons, Timothy Smith, Schafer Suggs Northside Middle School Honor Roll Sixth Grade - Kaitlyn Bradshaw, Trashae' Canion, Stefan Daniely, Jalena Duffey, Angeline Eugene, Austin Farms, Pamela Hamilton, Andrea Ingram, Jasmine Johnson, Sarah Laird, Di Sean Martin, Bethany Myrick, Timothy Peterson, Niasia Russell, Brent Sappe, Kaitlin Sleight, Hunter Smith, Jessica Smith, Joseph Stewart Seventh Grade - Shannon Adams, Xavion Calhoun, Cody Curnutte, Erica Deighan, Ayana Green, Hannah James, Kaitlyn Jones, Brooke Laird, Lindsey Lloyd, Frank Ray, Lyndsey Shelton, Jordan Smith, Amanda Thompson, Chelsa Urquhart, Ashley Williams Eighth Grade - Delilah Bell, Jasmine Edison, Michael Holladay, Chang Jiang, William Johnson, Heather Langston, Elizabeth Last, Stillman Parker, Shelbie Phillips, Erika Segreto, Melanie Story, Jake Taylor, Perry Weaver, Dallas Wright Honorable Mention Sixth Grade - Nayeli Alcantar, Eduardo Bautista, Christopher Bloodworth, Cearra Britt, Dustin Brown, Brian Dyson, Willow Gragg, Alexandria Kantorczyk, Justin Me Carley, Amber Me Inturff, Kathryn Myers, Rebecca Nelson, Sean Perryman, Brandy Purvis, Abigail Ramirez, Tiffany Smith, Rachel Taylor, Jaylan Thomie, Dylan Treend, Erin Vickers Seventh Grade - Andre’s Acosta, Taylor Ayers, Ruben Cornejo, Made Cutlip, Joshua Duty, Augustina Espinosa, Paul Harrelson, Tonya Herrington, Nia Hunter, Deanthony Jones, Lyndon Meadows, Adaleigh Moody, Heather Moss, Richard Odom, Olivia Padgett, Abrianna Shealey. Hope Simmons, Britney St. Peter, Haley Tidwell, Shaun Walds, Amanda Waller, Felicity Watts, Datarius Williams Eighth Grade - Andrew Alcantar, Robert Bousman, Rhiannon Carney, Katherine Holleman, Marissa Johnson, Hollie Langston, Daniel Me Girt, Jalysha Pleasant-Macklin, Christopher Vickers, William White, Anthony Wynn Perry Middle School Honor Roll Sixth Grade - Hunter Andersen, Marti Bell, Chelsea Bugg, Amber Carnes, Adrienne Chase, Phillip Chasteen, Michelle Clarington, Tyler Claxton, Dakota Collins-Gay, Amber Cory, Sharanda Dean, Michael Dlx, Richard Graham, Halle Hagler, Robernecia Heard, Coby Horton, Brian Jones, Christopher Jones, Razhon Jones, Johnathan Kratz, Chelsea Layson, Dylan Leach, Kimberlee Long, Matthew Long, Casey Mader, LOCAL of Perry, is the one who’s got to keep on working no matter what because he’s the one with the health care insurance. The city’s insurance provider offers good mqjor medical cover age, he explains, but there’s still a big deductible to pay, and that will come up again when 2007 arrives. As for Cindy, she’s already used up her sick leave at her job at the hospital in Hawkinsville, and will have to ask for a leave of absence next. It looks as if the fam ily will be living on one sal ary instead of two. She says, though, that at the hospital she met other families whose finances and struggles to care for their children made her feel that her family is very lucky. Besides, there’s this girl in a pink hat - a tiny girl with a little bit of green in her brown eyes, who was in the hospital so long, she almost forgot what “home” was - a little girl who’s been stuck with needles more times than anybody would want to count, who has a shunt in her chest and needs repeated chemotherapy and repeated hospitalizations. So what’s a family to do except whatever has to be done? Nicholas Martens, Rexx Massey, Mckenna Mauldin, Raymond Mobley, Savanna Moody, Tiffany Nance, lleana Nieves, Brandon Otto, Urmit Patel, Carol Pitzer, Joshua Pitzer, Alec Reece, Drew Robinson, Charlene Rogers, Andrew Rowell, Katherine Royal, Shykemiyon Rumph, Benjamin Schofill, Myles Sowell, Samantha Strickland, Anna Swartz, Ashley Tabor, Devon Thomas, Xavier Williams Seventh Grade - Meredith Bowden, Stephanie Bozeman, Brittany Brown, Alicia Crowe, Jhakeasha Davis, Jonathan Fall, Mitchell Freeman, Sherry Garbett, Hayley Gray, Lacy Heberlig, Kerwin Holmes, William Jones, Kathryn Meadows. Dylan Rovinsky, Laura Shipes. Hannah Therrell, Taylor Voss, Scarlett Wilkes Eighth Grade - Lauren Brett, Catelyn Conway, James Danforth, Kayla Heesh, William Herren, Avery Jones, Rachel Lilja, Daniel Rice, Emily Toliver, Reece Walker Honorable Mention Sixth Grade - Olivia Albritton, Emily Arbuckle, Megan Baggarly, Deangelous Brown, Michael Browning, Elexis Buckner, Matthew Burger, Ravan Clowers, Sydney Creamer, Rebekah Cross, Thomas Eason, Janea Feeney, Codi Hopper, Kiley Lister, Amari Mays, David Me Ginley, Savannah Mikeal, Kayla Miller, Landon J. Moore, Adrian Morris, Robert Morrow, Rebecca Powell, Amy Pullen, Kristen Rogers, Jesse Sammons, Sarah Svoboda, Deshawn Toliver, William Williams, Tyler Wilson, Marisa Winkler, Benjamin Woods, Hannah Wynne Seventh Grade - Leonard Bailey, Trenton Canada, Angelica Jarriel, David Knight, Mary Lawhorn, Mikailea Me Dowell, Nicholas Ryberg, Sherri Seward, Ci/ithia Talamantes, Bennie Thompson Eighth Grade - Carson Albritton, Molli Bell, Elizabeth Conner, Devon Griger, lan Hall, Shanna Hornaday, Travis Jackson, Talia Mitchell, Caleb Rogers, Erin Taylor, Andrew Watson Thomson Middle School Honor Roll Sixth Grade - Forrest Antioco, Allison Broeils, Tonya Byrd, Lucius Campbell, Abigail Carpenter, Fareeya Dowden, Katherine Ecklund, Paul Emrich, Jamesia Hammond, Abigail Jones, Romel Jordan, Aubrey Langston, Taylor Lay, Michala Lindsay, Malorie Morris, Jeremy Overman, Olivia-Kay Petchonka, Jordan Red, Briana Rodriguez, Gustavo Rosado, Haley Santamaria, Kara Scully Seventh Grade - Jonathan Bartlett, Amber Bates, Jessica Causey, Samantha Cox, Sara Del Rio, Andrew Evert, Ashley Farr, Briana Felder, Megan Grenon, Kyshuna Grimes, Millie Hatin, Jennifer Jones, Jaci- Bridgette Me Carty, Jerry Mixon, Tung Nguyen, Scott Pernett, James Pierce, John Sappington, Kellie Starvetsky, Erin Taylor, Jennafer Ullman Eighth Grade - John Aspinall, Joshua Bloodworth, Devaughn Brown, Nickeya Brown, Chelsea Desbiens, Ayla Dunn, Kyle Dzwonkowski, Samantha Evert, Hali Gainous, Danielle Gazaway, Felisa Glover, Aaron Jones, Valerie Kerhin, Brian Layfield, Christopher Maddox, Clinton Mills, Nicole Molina, Laura Pyronneau, Brooke Red, Joseph Sappington, Hillary Thompson, Katelyn Thornburg, Nicole Wallentine, David White, Justin Yun IBS JHH| "jHv M I m \ -jk jH LPKr Journal Charlotte Perkins A crisis has brought this family closer together. Olivia is shown here on her mother’s lap. From left, sister Elaina, parents Cindy and Alan Culpepper, brother Drew. Back row, Cindy’s parents, Gordon and Sarah Smith of Conyers, and her sister, Angie Rogero of Kennesaw. Alan’s parents and grandmother, Milton and Margaret Culpepper and Frances Bowen of Perry have cared for the older children while Olivia was hospitalized. Honorable Mention Sixth Grade- Zachary Bartlett, Kristen Connelly, Sabrina Cox, Tyekia Daniely, James Defoor, Breanna Hilliard, Victoria Jernigan, Clarissa Lewis, Griffin Martin, Alexis O Brien, Mayuresh Patel, Alexis Rinehart, Blayne Robertson, Morgan Whaley, Rasheeda Wicker Seventh Grade - Brandi Babbit, John-Tyler Barnwell, Summer Barnwell, Ke’yona Barton, Dexter Benney, Brentt Blackmon, Clay Blackwell, Steele Calhoun, Keynan Callum, Zachary Clower, Keina Crawford, Kathya Cruz, Hanif Elliott, Caitlin Faust, Dev’von Gillespie, Tevin Harmon, Curtis Haslem, Lauren Hitt, David Jackson, Krista Me Donald, Matthew Morrison, Antuanette Nelson, Joseph Overman, Devon Ringer, Destiny Wire, Morgan Young Eighth Grade- Taylor Antioco, Mark Billingsley, Tara Birdsey, Timothy Brown, Alexandria Chapman, Benjamin Circle, Jessica Coleman, Joshuah Cook, Chelsea Corrigan, Alexander Crist, William Davis, Tyler Durden, Savanna Gary, Christopher Gilstrap, Michael Gulledge, Patrick Hamilton, Bradley Harrison, Cory Hortman, Stephanie Johnson, Ivana King, Camille Lacey, Denesia Lester, Joshua Mathews, Melanie Morris, Melina Ryle, Ahmad Smith, Lorenzo Smith, Shelby Stewart, Chelsea Strickland, Kionnedra Waller, Jacob Werner Warner Robins Middle School Honor Roll Sixth Grade - Elizabeth Ackerman, Basil Al-Rafati, Andrew Behrman, Dusty Burgin, Audrey Burkes, Thomas Chitester, Travon Clark, Heather Coy, Jamie Curington, Keziah Davis, Amy Eubanks, David Fambro, James Feddon, William Freeman, Austin Hanni, Angel Harris, Dylan Jones, Kayla Malone, Ashley Me Kinney, Raj Patel, Carolina Smith, Jasmine Thaxton, Angelica Valdez Seventh Grade - Jessica Adams, Ashley Albritton, Bryan Boyd, Chase Cummings, Alyssa Gisseman, Landen Hattaway, Melissa Lehman, Dylan Lewis, Sam Minter, Cody Norris, Andriana Osborne, Gibson an _-qy early start on the New Year! Join for the months of October & November and get DECEMBER FREE!* *New members only. • 24 Hour Access • Personal Training • no Contracts 1030 Ball Street (Downtown Perry) 987-8516 TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2006 ♦ Pope, James Purcell, Brayan Rubalcava, Erick Rubalcava, Diana Sacks, Brinley Swanson, Brett Taylor, Megan Weigle, Lyndse Willis Eighth Grade - Anna Dominey, Christina Elling, Louis Foss, Sarah Freeman, Roch Gillmore, Dillon Hanni, Anna Hess, Rahul Joshee, Vania Lee, Lindsay Mears, Kyle Yarbrough Honorable Mention Sixth Grade - Lina Asad, Adrianna Barnes, Kiana Best, Shannon Bishop, Diamond Black, Shane Blackburn, Jeremiah Bohn, Keyarica Carson, Hope Clark, Kamie Costley, Tyler De Langhe, Krystena Duggan, Christopher Gaston, Kiara Griffin, Jaziah Griffiths, Losa Hill, Kevin Karika, Alyssa Lorenz, Sierra Lovette, Willie Me Cleese, Daniella Montes, Samantha Mullens, Abigail Olsen, Rachel Ray, George Steinke, Tyronica Taylor, Jessica Webber, Ashlyn West, Taylor White, Sherkon Wright Seventh Grade - Tyler Atkinson, Blaire Bagwell, Alexander Bohn, Devon Bowden, Emily Bressler, Victoria Burke, Aletha Carnley, Celine Chretien, Anthony Cliatt, Ross Dempsey, Madgie Fulford, Christopher Gavins, Samantha Hartman, Arianna Jenkins, Jakeira Me Iver, Evelyn Me Rory, Courtney Nelson, Christian Ray, Kaleb Sego, Clint Wynn Eighth Grade - Carolina Alarcon, Miriam Baker, Haley Ceja, Caitlyn Downey, Kaitlyn Erhardt, Laquessa Fullwood, Mimi Garcia-Otero, Christian Geronzin, Rachel Little, Melissa Me Cormack, Brittany Richardson, Stacey Sanders. Adam Stretch, Lauren Taylor, Megan Towner, Kenneth Washington, Reggie Wootson, Heather Yake My Grandpa We lore him! v. „ ....... • Free Weights • Treadmills • Family Plan Auailable 3B