Today in Highland Park
Excerpts from theChicagoTribune.com:
The City of Highland Park and the Highland Park Fire Department will host a Memorial Day blood drive to support a fellow firefighter’s daughter’s continued fight against a rare cancer, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 23, at Headquarters Fire Station #33, 1130 Central Ave., Highland Park.
Kylia Abbott’s stage four neuroblastoma diagnosis came after her one-year exam in January 2014. It’s a rare cancer where malignant (cancer) cells form in nerve tissue of the adrenal gland, neck, chest, or spinal cord. Her aggressive treatment at University of Chicago Medicine Comer Children’s Hospital required nearly 20 blood transfusions.
The family is grateful for the support they continue to receive from Abbott’s colleagues-many of whom have made sacrifices of their own time to allow both him and his wife, Kelly, to be with their daughter during her treatments.
This is the second year that the fire department has supported Kylia Abbott, 2, the daughter of firefighter Nathan Abbott, with a Memorial Day blood drive. He’s a former U.S. Marine who was awarded the Purple Heart during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
For Abbott’s colleagues, the chance to again honor his daughter with a blood drive on the military’s most solemn day is the perfect fit.
“We’re in the career of service-including service to our own,” says Highland Park Fire Chief Dan Pease. “In our endless effort to save lives, we now focus on trying to help a brother and his family in their time of need.”
Kylia’s grandmother says that blood donations were the key to keeping Kylia in good health while she awaited her recent stem cell transfusion. “Kylia’s treatment is a credit not only to her doctors, but also her ability to get blood transfusions when her condition weakens her bone marrow. These blood transfusions were vital in allowing Kylia to be more alert, which in turn, helped her to fight this cancer.”
Appointments for the blood drive are preferred, but all walk-ins are welcome. Donors can schedule their appointment by calling LifeSource at (877) 543-3768, or visiting www.lifesource.org and making an appointment using group code 344D.
thanks Dan
