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Rex, wife and mother of three children under the age of five, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in the spring of 2008. She has undergone several rounds of chemo and one bone marrow transplant already. Her sister Jennifer, also an MVNU graduate, says, “Right now, we do not know which direction this will go. But we do know this—that God in His mercy understands all our emotions, that His grace will carry us through anything, and His undeniable peace will see us through this storm—peace that enables us to not only wait for the storm to pass, but to also dance in the rain.” To read more about Rex’s journey, visit her blog at www.danceintherainmelissa.blogspot.com.

MVNU’s student nursing club, Society of Cougar Nurses (SCN), was pleased to be a part of an event that brought together the campus and the community, and that will save lives of those living with conditions that require bone marrow transplants to live such as leukemia. Freshman and sophomores assisted potential donors with the registration forms, while the juniors and seniors performed the actual swabbing due to the accomplishment of their laboratory skills testing.

MVNU employees and alumni Kimberly Eades, Tom West and James Smith worked with SCN to organize an event that would collect buccal specimens for potential bone marrow donors, in hopes that a match would be found for Rex. Wednesday, Nov. 11, was the first day of bone marrow donor swabbing. Smith spoke in chapel that day about the importance of community, and told the students Rex’s story, and her desperate need of a bone marrow transplant. Eades gave her testimony, and then opened up the floor for anyone who wanted to join the registry. Nursing professors Debra Garee and Tara Raudebaugh supervised nursing students throughout the week. Nine SCN students helped chapel attendees fill out forms and complete swabbing. Student nurses continued to swab chapel attendees for the next two hours.

Be-The-Match representatives told Eades and SCN not to expect more than 150 people to volunteer to become potential bone marrow donors. On the first day alone, 165 people registered.

Friday and Saturday, Nov. 13-14, was Homecoming weekend at MVNU. Sixty individuals were swabbed and registered on Friday after the Homecoming chapel service. With alumni on campus, it was the opportune time to hold the registration to help one of their own. During Friday night’s basketball games and activities, more than 100 people were swabbed and the nursing students on duty had the chance to meet and talk to Rex’s sister Jennifer.

After the alumni reunions on Saturday, SCN swabbed 50 alumni. Nursing students then came face-to-face with Melissa herself on Saturday as her class of 1999 experienced its ten-year reunion. Alumni were very hopeful that a match would be found for their former classmate.

The North Bend Brethren Church of Danville, Ohio, asked to have buccal swabbing to find potential bone marrow donors after services on Sunday, Nov. 15. Thirty-five congregation members participated with the assistance of Professor Raudebaugh and student Kristina Fox.

Many students, staff, and others requested to be swabbed outside of the events due to scheduling conflicts. These volunteers brought the final total of potential bone marrow donors from the entire week to 435. It will take six or more weeks for the swabs to be analyzed.

Helping register potential bone marrow donors on the “Be The Match” registry has greatly impacted the campus, nursing students, the community, and hopefully the nation. Students gained the experience of planning an event that provides tertiary prevention, and also gave the campus an opportunity to actively participate in a life-saving cause. Nursing student Kristina Fox said, “Our hope is that this event has allowed the community to view the nursing department and campus as a health and spiritual resource. Offering bone marrow registry in itself has facilitated awareness about the need for bone marrow transplants on a national level, and how difficult it is to find a match. If matches are found, lives can be saved around the globe.”

If you are interested in participating in the “Be The Match” bone marrow registry, you can still do so. Visit www.bethematch.org to order a swab kit online.