Update on little Madeline

Remember the post we did a few days ago about Madeline?  She’s a little girl who relies on regular blood transfusions as she battled cancer.

We are THRILLED to report:

Recent scans have concluded that Madeline is now cancer free!!!

Madeline Richardson was diagnosed on January 13, 2011, with Stage 4—the most advanced stage—of neuroblastoma.  Battling Stage 4 of neuroblastoma became top priority for Madeline and her family.

Madeline spent much of her time undergoing treatment at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.  When Madeline’s red blood cell count became dangerously low after her first round of chemotherapy, she relied on the blood of volunteer donors to replenish her supply.  Carol Richardson, Madeline’s mother, was touched to see the bag that held the blood her daughter needed:

“It was just so amazing to see those words up there that said ‘volunteer donor.’ To know that someone I don’t even know has done this for my daughter is just amazing.  You want to say thank you.  You want to find out, who is that person, and reach out and show them what a difference they made in your life and your daughter’s life.”

Madeline had also benefited from donated blood during apheresis, a process where her blood is drawn out into a machine that extracts her stem cells (and cleans them and sets them aside for later use) and returns the rest of her blood to her body. Because Madeline could not afford to lose the amount of blood that was needed to begin the procedure, volunteer blood was used to “prime the lines.”

Madeline has received more than 40 blood transfusions, which helped to continue treatment.

Along with an optimism that’s bright like the sun, it was the combined efforts of Madeline, her family, her doctors, and the many other people who support her, including volunteer blood donors, that restored the brightness in Madeline’s life.

Every two seconds someone in the U.S. needs a blood transfusion. You can help by giving blood.

redcrossblood.org | 1-800-RE D CROSS | 1-800-733-2767

“Miracle man” escapes fire and is thankful to the Red Cross

Contributed by Randy Burns, Special to The Item 

"Miracle Man," Robert Brunson, an amputee without hands and portions of his legs shares his survival story.

The words hero and miracle get bandied about rather easily at times, but Sumter emergency responders were quick to use the words in describing how a 64-year-old physically disabled man managed to rescue himself from a blazing house fire earlier this week.

Robert Brunson, an amputee without hands and portions of his legs, was by himself in his wheelchair watching TV in the bedroom a few minutes before 1 a.m. Monday when the first fire alarm went off at his home at 991 Ravenwood Drive, about two miles from Sumter High School.

Brunson dismisses any talk of being a “miracle man.”  All I did was use just good common sense,” he said.  “When the alarm went off, I was not in the bed.  I was watching TV sitting in the chair.  That was good, but it would only have taken me a minute to get in the chair if I had been in the bed.  I knew what to do when I heard the alarm.  People say I’m a miracle, the way I do things.  I have learned to use my nubs as hands. And I can walk with my artificial legs and walker.  I just try to do the best I can.  I think I do more for myself than some people who have two arms and two legs.”

Practice leaving the house on his own in case of an emergency paid off.

“As I was trained to do by my wife, I rolled straight to the front door,” Brunson said.  “The alarm kept ringing, but I didn’t smell anything or see any fire.  I thought it was a false alarm.  Sometimes the alarm would go off like that.  I opened the front door to let some air in the house, thinking it would turn the alarm off.”

A couple of minutes later, the second alarm went off, Brunson said.

“I said to myself, something ain’t right,” Brunson said.  “I rolled back into the living room, and I felt the heat.  I saw the smoke, and I knew the house was on fire.  I told myself to get out of the house.  I rolled out the front door in my wheelchair, hollering for help.”

Marie and Robert Brunson's home at 991 Ravenwood Drive burns Monday.

Sumter Fire Battalion Chief Bud Ivey said Brunson was sitting in his chair in the front yard when he arrived shortly after 1 a.m. “Mr. Brunson was hysterical,” Ivey said.  “You know, he had just lost everything.  “Ivey said it was evident that Brunson himself was safe.   ”It’s really a testament to smoke alarms and fire detectors,” Ivey said.   ”Without them, I believe he would have perished in that fire.”  At the time of the fire, Brunson’s wife, Marie, was working the midnight shift as a nursing assistant at Covenant Place. Marie Brunson said she asked two questions when a neighbor called to tell her of the fire.   “First, I wanted to know where my husband was,” she said.   “And second, I wanted to know if he was all right.”

 

“When he saw me coming down the street, I was running to him,” she said. “He said, ‘Boo, we have lost everything.’   I told him, ‘No, we haven’t lost everything.  You are still alive, and I’m alive.’”   Brunson said she wasn’t surprised her husband was able to rescue himself. “He did what he was taught to do,” she said. “  I am just so happy we had smoke alarms.   I advise everybody to have smoke alarms.” 

The Brunson's, Marie and Robert, call each other "Boo." They have been married 25 years. Robert Brunson said his wife is his friend, therapist, partner, lover and wife.

 The Brunsons say they are also appreciative to Red Cross for their assistance.  Red Cross provided the Brunsons with three nights of lodging and money for clothing and personal items.   “I knew about the Red Cross,” said Robert Brunson. “But I found out how important they are.  I don’t know what we would have done without Red Cross.”

Red Cross Volunteer Larry Nettles said Ivey called him about 1:30 a.m. Monday.  ”Chief told me to come quick, that they had a man in a wheelchair by himself,” Nettles said.  Nettles said he learned quickly that Brunson was “an amazing man.” “His surviving that fire is nothing short of a miracle,” Nettles said.  “Mr. Brunson is a real hero.”

The Brunsons asked Nettles to be with them on Friday morning when the insurance adjuster met with them.  Their house was a total loss, estimated value at $80,000 with contents estimated at $30,000, according to an incident report filed by the Sumter Fire Department.  The fire started in the laundry room area of the house and is thought to have been caused by an electrical short.  ”They were nervous about what he would say,” Nettles said.  “They just bought the insurance in November, and they wanted someone to be with them.”

The Brunsons were delighted with their meeting.  They will be provided lodging for three months, until they find a permanent home.  “We are going to get another house and move back home on the same property,” Brunson said.Robert Brunson said he is fortunate to live in Sumter.  ”I’ve lived in New Jersey, North Carolina and Georgia,” he said.  ”But there’s no better place than Sumter.  Everybody has been great.”  Brunson said he is particularly lucky to be married to Marie. “We call each other Boo,” he said. “We’ve been married 25 years. I met her on a bus headed for Myrtle Beach.  She was going to work. And I was looking for a job.  Well, I ended up with a new job and a new wife.”

Brunson said he is excited about the future.  “Everything is going to be fine,” he said.  “You know, my wife is my best friend.  She’s my therapist, my partner, my lover, and my wife.”

Greg Haskins and Larry Nettles are the two Red Cross volunteers that assisted Robert and Marie Burnson.  These dedicated volunteers were on the scene providing immediate emergency assistance to the Brunson’s at 1:30 a.m. on the night of the fire. 

 Click here to read more stories from The Item.

Sweet Charity Society shares its sweets for a cause

The Sweet Charity Society invites women in the community to an afternoon of Sherry and Chocolates on February 12th to benefit the Aiken County Chapter of the American Red Cross.  The Red Cross is looking for compassionate women, who may be leaders in the community and who are interested in supporting the mission of the American Red Cross.

Click here to learn more about the event.

Disaster Update: Alabama Tornado Relief

As people work their way through the destruction left by January 23rd’s tornado, Red Cross continues to provide help on several fronts.

• A shelter remains open at First Baptist Church of Center Point – 1945 Center Point Parkway, Center Point
• Mobile feeding continues throughout affected communities
• Bulk distribution sites are actively giving out supplies free of charge to those affected
• Caseworkers, health and mental health professionals are conducting visits in the disaster-affected areas
• Information on Red Cross services or to schedule after-hour casework appointments call (205) 439-7880 and push Option 6

Volunteers from many organizations have worked shoulder-to-shoulder with Red Cross volunteers to make sure that needs are being met which include Air Force officers from Maxwell Air Force Base, NAACP, Southern Baptist Convention and many more.  Approximately 90% of the volunteers responding are from Alabama.

Alabama Tornadoes Partnerships

This story is written by American Red Cross worker Dave Schrader, who is currently in Alabama to help with the Red Cross relief efforts.

NAACP disaster liaison Steve Branch meets with Red Cross volunteer John Manners of Tennessee at the American Red Cross Alabama tornado Disaster Operations Center to map out a plan to help people in tornado ravaged areas outside Birmingham, AL.

It’s 10 a.m. on Thursday, January 26th , just days after tornadoes tore through neighborhoods and communities surrounding Birmingham, Alabama and there’s nothing else Steve Branch wants to be doing than helping the American Red Cross help those in need.  Branch, unfortunately, has seen his share of disasters, most recently as the head of the NAACP’s disaster response following the Tuscaloosa tornado less than a year earlier.  Branch is helping again this year as part of a partnership the NAACP has with the American Red Cross, a partnership Branch values a great deal.

“The NAACP and the Red Cross serve as a bridge,” Branch says.  “They are a bridge to bring people together to help each other.”

Branch says within 24 hours dozens of NAACP members from around Alabama will descend on Birmingham.  Then in conjunction with the Red Cross, they will handle administrative and field work, including fanning out to the hardest hit areas to meet face to face with residents.  Branch says the volunteers will be organized by expertise and then assigned to help where the needs are greatest.

“First and foremost, we are here to help,” Branch says.  “But we also want to enlighten and educate residents about the kind of assistance the Red Cross provides and how to get it.”

The partnership the American Red Cross has with the NAACP is just one of many partnerships the Red Cross worked out long ago and is being put to good use here in Alabama.

The American Red Cross’ longstanding partnership with the Southern Baptist Convention is once again helping serve hundreds of meals to people who don’t have power or the means to cook their own meals.

The American Red Cross buys the food, the Southern Baptists then cook it up in a makeshift kitchen outside one of three shelters set up here, and then Red Cross volunteers load up the food in Emergency Response Vehicles and literally hand delivers it to people at their homes or in their neighborhoods.

Just like the American Red Cross cannot do what it does without the generous support of donations from the public, it also cannot do what it does without the many partnerships it has formed over the years. The American Red Cross is continually forming new relationships, like the one it has with Steve Branch and the NAACP, so it can continue to respond to disasters quickly, effectively, and efficiently.

Madeline – American Red Cross Blood Recipient Story

In 2011, six-year-old Madeline Richardson began treatment for a cancerous tumor that took up most of her abdomen. She needed many blood products through her treatment. Her parents and family are so thankful to volunteer Red Cross blood donors that have begun holding their own drives and recruiting as many people as they can to give blood for Madeline and others like her who need blood products to live.

Please give today and  help save a life.  To make a blood donation appointment, call 1-800-REDCROSS or by visit redcrossblood.org.

This Year Americans of All Ages Made Holiday Mail for Heroes A Success!

For the fifth year in a row, people from all corners of the country showed their incredible support for the country’s service members, veterans and their families by participating in Holiday Mail for Heroes, a program run by the American Red Cross and Pitney Bowes. 

At shopping malls, over Thanksgiving gatherings and simply during their own free time, Americans of all ages took the program’s mission to heart and sent in thousands of holiday greeting cards, which will be distributed across the country and around the world.

Holiday cards created by Richland One Middle College

In the Columbia Region, 34,763 cards were collected from schools, businesses, churches and community members.   In Columbia, we had over dozen volunteers spend the day at our office sorting cards.  Below is a video of Cheryl Payne, a Red Cross volunteer reading a card that was made by students at Fort Mill Elementary School in Fort Mill, SC.

Handmade cards from children often win the most smiles.  Students from across our region learned the importance of giving back, while unleashing their creative minds to produce spectacular holiday cards. 

Click here for a full story about how students at Rosewood Elementary School in Columbia, SC created cards for our troops.  

The University of South Carolina (USC) provided tremendous support to the Holiday Mail for Heroes program. Over 5,000 cards were signed during USC’s Homecoming and during the Annual Carolina/Clemson Blood Drive.

Also, USC’s Athletics Department unleashed their own creativity by holding a Holiday Mail for Heroes card-design contest. Two dozen volunteers from the department, both students and employees, spent time at the Red Cross office in Columbia to put together their handmade greetings.

The proud winners of the University of South Carolina's Athletics Department’s Holiday Mail for Heroes card design contest. From left: Paul Stoltzfun, Gerald Dixon Jr. and Raymond Harrison.

This year the Red Cross teamed up with “A Devine Night Out,” Columbia’s premier Holiday event.  At this event Red Cross volunteers had multiple tables set up where guests participated in Holiday Mail.

The success of this year’s program was made possible by each and every member of the community that participated.  Thank you for your support of our country’s military, veterans and their families!

A Chance to Do Something Good

 

Written by Ginny Parrish-Loy, American Red Cross Volunteer

For the past 23 years, the American Red Cross and the people of Myrtle Beach have prepared Christmas dinner for those in need.  It started in 1989 after Hurricane Hugo’s destruction.  Long-time Red Cross supporter, Janice Ash Sialiano saw a community in need and had the idea of hosting a Christmas Dinner for those affected by the hurricane.   She reached out to the Red Cross to lead this important initiative and now, over two decades later, it is a tradition.  You may ask why they continue doing this all these years later, and people will respond that it “offers them a chance to do something good.”  And much good has been done.

Volunteers carve 6,300 pounds of turkey in preparation for the 23rd Annual Christmas Dinner

This year, the Annual Christmas Dinner served over 5,000 individuals from the Myrtle Beach area. 

Lee Zulanch, owner of Benjamin’s Bakery and Mike Arakas, owner of Crabby Mike’s co-chaired the dinner.  Lee began his journey 10 years ago where he started off helping carve turkeys.  Last year, the Red Cross asked him to help with planning and logistics.  He came up with a plan that would help them stay within their budget and make sure that there would be consistency in the quality of the meals.  He was back again this year with many more great ideas, and through his leadership he helped make it one of the best Christmas dinners yet.

Lee says the dinner has continued for over two decades because, “There is a huge need for people to put that aspect of contribution into their lives.”  He says, “The power of people is amazing.”  Lee had an immense amount of help from the American Culinary Federation, Georgetown Technical Community College and local high school culinary arts students plus many more volunteers, some who have been a part of this since the beginning.

Long-time volunteer, Deborah Kostic smiles as she helps serve hot meals on Christmas day.

In addition, there were many other groups that showed an outpour of generosity – ranging from large corporations, to small businesses, to volunteers wanting to simply give their time.  Bi-Lo Charities donated $10,000 and a local family foundation donated $5,000. Other companies contributed as well: Hall Enterprises with Bread, Pepisco with soft drinks, S&D Coffee with coffee and tea, Nash Oil Company with diesel fuel to help run the 54 foot refrigerated truck donated by Bi-Lo, Haigney Linen with linens, aprons and napkins.  Another volunteer, Iain Purvess donated 40 poinsettias for decorations, and a repairman gave his services for free when there was a problem with the ovens.  Countless others donated cash and services.  Four area churches donated their kitchen space and fellowship halls for the dinners and Good Samaritan Services made sure that folks who needed a ride to get to the dinner had one.  Home Depot supplied volunteers who arrived every day in their orange shirts ready to help.

Red Cross volunteers and community members serve meals on Christmas day.

How do you serve this many people?  Begin planning in October.  Buy 300 turkeys or three tons of meat, 1,400 pounds of yams and 875 pounds of cranberries.  Add a generous helping of volunteers (30 to 60 per day, many of them well versed in the culinary arts) and work for 10 days, add countless local folks bringing in desserts, and generously sprinkle with contributors with large hearts and you get a dinner that as Lee says “isn’t just feeding people, but feeding them a meal that I would be proud of and would enjoy.” 

Lee says this is a time of year when the whole community led by the Red Cross comes together to give other agencies a day of celebration with their families and gives those who need a warm meal (and maybe even a coat and scarf) a place to come and celebrate.  This has become a lasting tradition for the people in the Myrtle Beach area.  Lee says of the thousands of volunteers who make this possible, “It offers them a chance to do something good – it’s amazing what people can do.”

It’s not too late to make a tax-deductible donation to the Red Cross!

A Red Cross volunteer provides disaster relief to a young girl in a shelter after tornadoes ripped through the South East this past spring.

The New Year is a time for making resolutions, and we are urging people to resolve to help someone by making a tax-deductible donation to the Red Cross before the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve.

As 2011 draws to a close, we are asking everyone to remember those who need help and contribute to the Red Cross.  This end-of-year generosity will allow us to help a disaster victim, a member of the military, a hospital patient or someone learning to swim.

Many people make charitable contributions at the end of the year as part of their holiday tradition, and the Red Cross depends on these donations to provide hope, help and compassion.  Nationally, donations in December account for about 20 percent of all non-disaster contributions from the public to the Red Cross.

A Red Cross national poll found that 57 percent of those surveyed planned to donate to charity during the holiday season, and more than half of them (54 percent) plan to give at least $50.

Hundreds of thousands of people needed help from the Red Cross in 2011, their lives forever changed by disasters like tornadoes, floods, wildfires and hurricanes in the U.S., and earthquakes and other disasters around the world. In the U.S., the Red Cross launched 137 domestic disaster relief operations in 46 states and territories to help people affected by fires, floods, hurricanes and tornadoes.  In addition, major international disasters included the Japan earthquake and tsunami response and the continuing work following the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

Becky Fitzpatrick and Jerry George, volunteers from the Aiken County Chapter, serve a hot meal to a resident whose home was severely damaged by a tornado in Raleigh, NC this past spring.

In addition, ppeople can still go to the American Red Cross Holiday Gift Catalog and buy a symbolic gift. These also are tax-deductible contributions to the overall Red Cross mission.

The catalog includes donations for items such as a military comfort kit filled with a phone card, robe, shower shoes, toiletries and an MP3 music gift card for those who have been wounded.

Disaster-related items include blankets to wrap around a woman standing in her yard this winter after her house has burned to the ground; hot meals to make sure no one goes hungry when a disaster strikes; or a toothbrush, soap and other essential personal care supplies for a child sheltered from a storm. 

For those with global interests, the Holiday Gift Catalog contains a number of gifts to bring Red Cross services to people in crisis overseas. These include emergency water containers to help families collect and store clean water, tarps to provide temporary shelter and shovels to dig ditches when floods threaten.

What better way to finish 2011 with early action on a resolution to lend a helping hand?  Help someone in need and resolve to contribute to the Red Cross before the end of the year. 

To make a tax-deductable donation, click here, mail a check to American Red Cross, P.O. Box 91, Columbia, SC, 29202 or call 803-540-1242.

Happy New Year from the Red Cross!

Season’s Greetings from the American Red Cross!