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Lifestyle
Matching bone marrow donor sought for young man with leukemia
By CHARLOTTE PERKINS
Times-lournal Staff
Kenny Graham
had never given
any thought no
blood cell
counts,
chemotherapy and blood donor
drives back in 1997.
He was a student at Macon
College then, and a self
described “rabble-rouser” hav
ing fun with friends, enjoying an
active life.
Then it began.
The first odd thing Graham
remembers, happened at softball
practice.
“I swung the bat and col
lapsed,” he said. “They were
pouring Gatoradc all over me,”
Then he noticed that when he
was running out of breath when
he walked up stairs.
His parents, Bobby and
Shirley Graham, noticed that
too.
“He had no energy,” Bobby
Graham remembered. “He lost
his color. He was pale."
Doctors thought at first that
Kenny Graham might have that
common “college kid’s” ailment
mononucleosis, but tests
showed it wasn’t that. It took a
few more weeks, more symptoms
and more tests before the bad
news hit the Graham family.
Doctors diagnosed Kenny
Graham with Acute
Lymphocytic Leukemia.
A.L.L. is a form of cancer
Miss Perry High pageant
features Shannon Lanier
Remember the 1999 Miss
Perry High School Pageant Feb.
6, 8 p.m. at PHS auditorium
Shannon Lanier, 1998 Miss
Perry High School, will return to
help crown the 1999 Miss PHS.
During the evening she will
entertain during a break with a
dance/twirl routine, similar to her
performance last year.
Shannon is now a student at
Georgia Southern University
where she is on the majorette
line. She is also very active in the
GSU Wesley Foundation and
made the Dean’s List last semes
ter.
•••
Robert and Martha Head
Peavy celebrated their 50th wed
ding anniversary with a reception
in the new Sarah Groves Saliba
Fellowship Hall of Byromville
Baptist Church Jan. 24. Some
182 friends and relatives signed
the guest book. Sadly absent from
the occasion was Martha’s moth
er, Velma Head, who was a
patient at Perry Hospital. She has
been released now and is enjoying
a visit with Robert and Martha in
Byromville. Velma is 89 and has
12 grandchildren and 16 great
grands.
The Peavys have three chil
dren, Bob, Steve, and Gayle and
three grandchildren. Robert has
now retired as aircraft inspector
at Robins Air Force Base and
Martha is retired as Postmaster of
Byromville and co-owns P ScJ's,
a variety store selling new and
used items only on Saturdays.
•••
Speaking of Perry Hospital, its
rooms have been filled lately with
some of Perry’s most precious
people. Ralph’s mom Maggie
Ruth with pneumonia, Martha
Van Asdalan, Max Rickctt, Adam
Andel, Ida Bell Woodruff to
name a few.
Bobby Lee Little has now
been released to the home care of
his wife, Janet after spending the
past two months at Perry
Hospital. He suffered a stroke
Dec. 11 and pneumonia after
Christmas. Bobby Lee is very
well thought of by many in the
community for his dedicated
lawn care.
•••
Heartfelt sympathy to Bill
Hafley upon the death of his dear
wife Betty. At her Perry United
Methodist Church service rela
tives and friends were comforted
by the beautiful recorded instru
mental music of Betty’s
favorite romantic ■ classics,
“Serenade” by Drega and
“Traumerei.”
•••
Congratulations to Jason Pike
who helps us at the Times-Jouma!
with graphic arts and is a sopho
more at Macon State College. He
which causes white blood cells to
grow out of control and fail to
mature. This crowds out normal
. bone marrow production of white
blood cells, platelets and red
blood cells.
Since the body depends on red
blood cells to carry oxygen to
organs and tissues, Graham’s
fatigue and paleness were the
result Qf insufficient oxygen.
How did he react to the news
that he had a life-threatening dis
ease?
“1 had a couple of days of
tears,” Graham admitted, “but I
got good support from my family
and friends. I’ve learned to smile
and keep on. Laughing and jok
ing with my friends helps, and I
try to live as normal a life as I
_ i*
can.
“Normal” right from the
start, turned into coundess hours
of heavy chemotherapy, as doc
tors at the Houston Medical
Center, batded to save Grahams
life.
As for his parents, Bobby
Graham admitted readily their
fears. They grieved, too. At a
point that their son would nor
mally have, been branching out
on his own and becoming inde
fjendent, his life changed radical-
Y-
Beyond that, when doctors
said that Kenny Graham needed
a bone marrow transplant, they
faced a challenge that most par
ents of A.L.L. victims don’t have.
The Grahams adopted their son.
Just
Visitin
With Joan
Dorsett
has been writing reviews of
movies and CD’s for the school
newspaper, “The Commuter”. Jan
30 at the Plaza Hotel in Macon
he was presented a plaque by the
Georgia College Press
Association for First Place for
Best Review of a Jr. Institution.
•••
Laura May Watson welcomed
weekend visitors from
Lynchburg, Va. recently, her
nephew Cosby and Noel Draper.
Laura May has no brothers and
sisters but has lots of nieces and
nephews. Her dad was Cosby’s
granddad.
•••
This week’s twins are a broth
er and sister duo who made a
newspaper story in Louisville,
Ky., as being one of six sets of
twins born at the same hospital
on the same day. Jenny Howell
and Jeff Keithley will turn 42
Feb. 19. Jenny resides here with
her daughter, Cynthia, who is a
ninth grader. Her son, Jason, is
married to Gloria and they have a
son, Dylan Michael, who is three
and Jenny’s only grandchild.
Gourmet Brew Sc Baskets
Shoppe in the Village Shops in
downtown Perry is Jenny’s con
tribution to our shopping plea
sure. She opened in October with
gourmet coffees and foods to fill
caring baskets she makes to
order. A different coffee flavor a
day she brews for 85 cents to take
away.
Jenny’s twin brother Jeff and
Connie Keithley also live in
Perry, are into the business of car
pentry, and he’s your handyman.
Connie’s daughter is Amanda
McLeod, a PHS senior who will
compete for Miss Perry High
School Saturday evening. Her
son Joe and Tammy McLeod
have little Marjorie and Joe Jr.
•••
Congratulations to John and
Donna Warlick, our Ridge Circle
South neighbors, on the birth of
their daughter, Abigail Grace
Ann “Abbie”, who was born Jan.
26 at The Womens Center of
Houston Medical Center. Abbie
joins three-year-old sister, Hettie
Alexandra Grace “Allie”, and
brother and sister, Jessi and Tyler
Kinsler in the Warlick house
hold. Grandparents are Travis
and Jessi Bush of Warner Robins
and the late Boyd and Hettie
Warlick.
(See VISITIN’, Page 3B)
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STILL SMILING - Kenny Graham, seated, has lost his hair as
a side effect chemotherapy, but that doesn't bother him or his
tirifriend, Christy Howard. Shown with Kenny and Christy is
enn/s dad, Bobby Graham.
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Houston Health iCriikm. The
Pavilion is at die Houston Mali
in Warner Robins.
Sponsored by die American
Red Cross and the Healthcare
Complex, the drive springs
from Kenny Graham and his
need for a matching donor.
Officials hope to recruit volun-
His adoptive family had to trace
down his birth mother to see if
her bone marrow was a match for
Kenny Graham’s.
After weeks of detective work
they did locate the birth mother,
and she agreed to the tesring,
with disappointing results.
“It was a match, but not a per
fect one,” Kenny Graham said.
This is not uncommon. Only
30 percent of blood marrow
donor, matches come within
families.
There have been ups and
downs all along. On the “up”
side, Graham met Christy
Howard, a smiling 17-year-old
who has stuck by him through
thick and thin.
“She’s been a real blessing to
him,” his father said.
On the “down” side, Kenny
Graham is heading to Emory
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Only 30 percent of those
needing bone marrow trans
plants find matching donors
within their family. Thus, the
rest must search for unrelated
donors, depending on volun
teer participation in marrow
donor drives.
(See DONOR, Page 2B)
hospital this week for intensive
chemotherapy. The search for a
matching bone marrow donor
continues.
Meanwhile, the Houston
Healthcare Complex and the
Houston County Chapter of the
American Red Cross are pitch
ing in to help with a two-part
bone marrow drive. The hospital
is paying the 145 per person cost
for testing and typing the
donors.
Will this drive turn up a
donor for Graham?
It’s a long shot, but Graham’s
father, who was at the first stage
of the drive on Jan. 30, is trying
to keep a positive outlook.
“Its like I told my pastor the
other day,” Bobby Graham said,
“finding a match in this drive is
too much to hope for, but it’s not
too much to pray for.”
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