Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, December 23, 1993                   TAG: 9312230092
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

GROWING UP FAST, BUT NOT BY CHOICE

Harrison, 15, has acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and her bravery has matured her at an accelerated rate.

It's no surprise that she has the grown-up sense to honor the doctor and nurses who treat her at the Cancer Center of Southwest Virginia with a gift to the Good Neighbors Fund.

Harrison was diagnosed with leukemia in April 1991, on her 13th birthday. She came to appreciate Dr. Stephen Kennedy and the nursing staff at the center during a 47-day stay in the hospital early in her illness.

She continues to receive three different treatments at the center, including a painful shot in her spine, similar to a spinal tap.

Harrison sees doctors at the University of Virginia and other places, but the people at the center are special to her.

"They don't just come in and do their business," she said. "They actually care what you do."

Apparently, both Harrison and the people she honors are doing things right.

Brandi Harrison is on the mend, without a relapse in sight.

\ Checks should be made payable to Good Neighbors Fund and mailed to Roanoke Times & World-News, P.O. Box 1951, Roanoke 24008.

Names - but not the amounts of donations - of contributing businesses, individuals or organizations, as well as memorial and honorific designations, will be listed. Those requesting their names not be used will remain anonymous. If no preference is stated, donor's name will be listed.

Gifts cannot be earmarked for any particular individual or family. Gifts are tax-deductible.

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