Teen, family fight cont...
Continued from page 1 Joseph’s campus, suffering from a low infection and cause the cells to start at-
sleeping, Kevin would snore louder than platelet count and a high white blood tacking other cells in the body. The high
ever. Thinking it could be sleep apnea, count. number of white blood cells can displace
his parents took him to an ear, nose and “It was such a shock,” Kathy said. “I normal bone marrow cells, which results
throat doctor. It was not sleep apnea, the certainly never thought I would learn in a lack of platelets, the small cytoplas-
doctors said, but they took a blood test what I know now.” mic bodies that help clot blood.
for precaution. Leukemia is a cancer of the blood or “I didn’t know much about the dis-
The call came at the Roberts’ house- bone marrow and is characterized by ease, but I’ve since read and learned a
hold on Christmas Eve. Their worst the abnormal proliferation of typically lot,” Gary, who works as the tax director
dreams had come true: Kevin had white blood cells. The increase in cell for Buncombe County, said.
The Weaverville Tribune
leukemia. Before the end of the day, he count can prevent the white blood cells The Roberts do not know yet wheth-
was admitted to Mission Hospitals, St. from performing their job of defending er Kevin, 19, will need a bone marrow
transplant, which is often the case with
these diagnosis. To date, he has received
11 units of platelets and two units of
blood.
Do you suffer from severe
“The goal is to get the disease into
remission,” Gary said. “It’s a waiting
game at this point.”
Kevin, a 2007 graduate of North
Buncombe High School, recently fin-
reflux or heartburn?
ished his second round of chemotherapy.
Gary said his spirits are good, and the
medical treatment they received thus far
has been outstanding.
“The nurses are the most compas-
sionate men and women I’ve ever met
in the medical field,” he said.
Even so, Kathy added that the hospi-
We are looking for
tal stays are tough on Kevin. He begs for
home stays whenever possible, if it only
means a chance to watch Bee Movie with
volunteers to take
a friend for a few hours.
The Roberts, who along with daugh-
ter Jennifer, a NBHS junior, have lived
in the Weaverville area for 17 years.
part in a clinical trial
They have been touched by the outpour-
ing of support from the community.
“We’ve felt a lot of love from every-
of a new study drug.
one. I’ve been so thankful for that,”
Kathy said.
To that extent, the Asheville-Moun-
tain Area Chapter of the American Red
Cross will be holding a blood drive in
Kevin’s honor from 1:30 pm to 6:30 pm
on Feb. 20 at Weaverville Town Hall at
30 S. Main St.
To be eligible to donate, participants
must be 17 years or older, weigh at least
110 pounds and exhibit good general
health. Red Cross statistics show that
one unit of blood can affect three
You will be medically
lives.
Red Cross officials will be asking
individuals if they are interested in
supervised.
joining the National Bone Marrow
registry. If so, those interested can have
their marrow type identified in a simple
procedure involving swabbing to obtain
DNA samples.
To set up an appointment for the Feb.
If you are interested in receiving further
20 drive, call 645-4716. To read more
about Kevin’s fight, go to www.caring-
bridge.org/visit/kevinroberts.
information, please call
Clinical Study Center of Asheville
828.253.5600
j t u r n e r @c l i n i c a l stu d yc e n te ro fa s h ev i l l e.n e t
24 THE TRIBUNE - Feb 12 - 18, 2009
www.weavervilletribune.com
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