Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, September 30, 1993 TAG: 9309300368
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BETSY BIESENBACH STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Tickle, who is almost a junior at Roanoke College, and Harrison, a sophomore at Salem High School, are recovering from prolonged battles with leukemia and with the side effects of treatment.
Two years ago, both young women were diagnosed with the disease and were featured in a story in the Neighbors section. Besides their illness, Tickle and Harrison share a love of basketball, they attend the same church, their friends and families worked together on fund-raising efforts for them, and both their fathers work for Norfolk Southern.
It has been a long, hard road for them and their families, but things are looking up.
Tickle was diagnosed with chronic myelocytic leukemia, a fatal form that only a bone-marrow transplant could cure. She had the operation in the spring of 1992. Tickle spent 52 days in isolation in a transplant center in Seattle. Because there was no good match within her family, the marrow came from a donor in England.
Today, she is feeling "pretty good," she said, even though she has had some problems with rejection of her new marrow.
Tickle has had to put her dream of being a commercial pilot on hold, but she still flies occasionally. Now she is studying chemistry and biology and plans to work in the medical field. As a start, in September, she helped form a support group for bone-marrow transplant patients. The turnout for the first meeting was four times what she expected, she said.
Harrison has had to give up a dream, too, at least for while. She still doesn't feel well enough to play basketball, said her mother, Sheila. She also missed out on most of her eighth-grade year and had to study hard to catch up.
Brandi was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a milder form of the disease. Although Brandi has been in remission ever since she was diagnosed, her immune system was weakened by her treatments. For two months, she was hospitalized with a severe fungus that only experimental drugs could cure.
"She was beyond sick," Sheila said. "It was a really awful time."
"I'm glad I'm well now," Brandi said. Her hair is finally growing back, and this month, a charitable foundation that helps sick children granted her dearest wish: her room is being completely redecorated with new paint, new carpeting and an entertainment center.
The Harrison family is no longer seeking donations for Brandi; her father's insurance is covering her expenses. But Tickle still needs anti-rejection medication and will have to make yearly trips back to the transplant center in Seattle.
Donations for Melissa may be sent to Crestar Bank, P.O. Box 2867, Roanoke, 24002-9988.
by CNB