-
Quick Links:
Our
Prayers for Steve...
Steve was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia. He has been treated since age 7. In December 2006 the dreaded disease reappeared. We know that God is with this child. Please keep Steve and his father Vahe in your prayers.
How you can help: Join the Bone Marrow Registry or Click HERE for a center close to you.
- Write to Steve - let him know you're thinking about him.
- Print the flyer for Bone Marrow Registry & Distribute.
- If you'd like to post a comment to the this page, please click here.
Quick Updates & Comments left on "Steve's Blog" are printed below:
(please note that "Steve's blog" has been moved to this page)
2/16/07
Received message this morning from the doctors that Steve's cancer is officially in remission! His blood and bone marrow are free of the disease. However, all is not over. We have not found a match for his bone marrow. The doctors have scheduled another round of chemotherapy for him this coming Wednesday. Our prayers are always with him and his father Vahe.
1/4/07
Dennis McCarthy's Column in the Los Angeles Daily News
1/1/07
Steve is back at home. Archbishop Hovnan Derderian visited and prayed with Steve at his home on New Years Day immediately after the celebration of the Holy Badarak. Steve's doing well and anticipating a donor match from the Blood Registry. Please download a flyer and let friends know about the registry this coming Sunday. Also, for those out of the Glendale area, please check on this link to find a place close-by to register.
12/25/06
Its Christmas Day. Steve is in his fifth
day of chemo. According to Vahe, everything is going as described by the
doctors.
Steve's having a doubly rough time - first reacting to all the chemicals
being pumped into his body and second, that he has to be in the hospital on
Christmas day. The other day, when we were talking he expressed his wish to
be out in time to enjoy Christmas - but it was too soon. Our prayers are
that maybe for New Year's Day he'll have a chance to go home.
Meanwhile, the world celebrates Christmas today. A lot of goodwill is
floating around the planet and certainly at this hospital in Duarte - the
City of Hope. It wouldn't be right to let the day go by without drawing the
parellel between this little boy and the little boy who was born in a manger
2000 years ago. He came into a world that was full of disease and dispair
and gave that world hope. A star shone over his head and pointed us all to
him. Today, I know there is a light that is shining over Steve and Vahe. Its
pointing to a couple of incredibly brave and tough men who are showing each
of us a way to live - to have faith, to trust in God and to fight the good
fight.
Merry Christmas Steve. Merry Christmas Vahe. May God bless you always.
-fr.vazken
12/21/06
The first day of Winter. I visited with Steve in his room at
City of Hope. He was playing a game of soccer on a Play Station. Dad was
sitting right next to him.
He had his first does of chemo yesterday and is doing well. His spirits can use some uplifting - like who wants to be in the hospital this time of year? And there's the fear of pain - remember, he's been down this path before. So there's a lot of memories from a few years back.
While we were talking his godmother called from the Boston area. It opened a conversation between us about the East Coast and West Coast. Steve's been around the country. Last year, he told me, he even swam with the dolphins in a tank somewhere in Orlando Florida. It was through the Make a Wish foundation that he had this chance.
He's doing OK - as good as can be. He has access to the internet - in a room close by. I told him that this blog exists and that he can read comments. So please leave them.
Also - please print this flyer and distribute: http://www.hyeyouth.com/SteveK_marrowdrive_010707.pdf
Bone marrow has to be matched!
Thanks.
He had his first does of chemo yesterday and is doing well. His spirits can use some uplifting - like who wants to be in the hospital this time of year? And there's the fear of pain - remember, he's been down this path before. So there's a lot of memories from a few years back.
While we were talking his godmother called from the Boston area. It opened a conversation between us about the East Coast and West Coast. Steve's been around the country. Last year, he told me, he even swam with the dolphins in a tank somewhere in Orlando Florida. It was through the Make a Wish foundation that he had this chance.
He's doing OK - as good as can be. He has access to the internet - in a room close by. I told him that this blog exists and that he can read comments. So please leave them.
Also - please print this flyer and distribute: http://www.hyeyouth.com/SteveK_marrowdrive_010707.pdf
Bone marrow has to be matched!
Thanks.
12/20/06
A Holiday Wish... (from the In His Shoes website)
"All I want for Christmas is to be well." Its a wish that you don't hear in the malls and shopping centers. Its the wish that comes from the mouths of children in hospitals and sick beds all over. Its a powerful wish that demands a powerful answer - from us.
Steve Kechichian will be spending Christmas in the hospital - the City of Hope to be exact. He has leukemia. He has struggled with this dreaded disease since the age of seven. After extensive chemotherapy, Steve enjoyed a brief period where the cancer seemed to be in remission. Unfortunately, the cancer has returned and has now consumed 98% of his good blood cells. Steve is 12 years old. He began a new round of chemotherapy on December 20 and will continue aggressively fighting the cancer through Christmas and New Year.
The prayers of the community are with Steve and his father, Vahe, during this very critical time. A bone-marrow transplant will make a difference in Steve's case and therefore, we're calling on everyone to sign up for Bone Marrow registry. Thirty percent of all patients needing a bone marrow transplant will find a suitable donor within his or her family. The other 70% of patients rely on unrelated volunteer donors.
On January 7, 2007 the City of Hope will be registering bone marrow donors in the hope of finding a match for Steve. Mark your calendar and plan on coming to the St. Peter Youth Ministries' Center in Glendale for the test. Its a painless procedure which takes only a few minutes.
"All I want for Christmas is to be well." Its a wish that you don't hear in the malls and shopping centers. Its the wish that comes from the mouths of children in hospitals and sick beds all over. Its a powerful wish that demands a powerful answer - from us.
Steve Kechichian will be spending Christmas in the hospital - the City of Hope to be exact. He has leukemia. He has struggled with this dreaded disease since the age of seven. After extensive chemotherapy, Steve enjoyed a brief period where the cancer seemed to be in remission. Unfortunately, the cancer has returned and has now consumed 98% of his good blood cells. Steve is 12 years old. He began a new round of chemotherapy on December 20 and will continue aggressively fighting the cancer through Christmas and New Year.
The prayers of the community are with Steve and his father, Vahe, during this very critical time. A bone-marrow transplant will make a difference in Steve's case and therefore, we're calling on everyone to sign up for Bone Marrow registry. Thirty percent of all patients needing a bone marrow transplant will find a suitable donor within his or her family. The other 70% of patients rely on unrelated volunteer donors.
On January 7, 2007 the City of Hope will be registering bone marrow donors in the hope of finding a match for Steve. Mark your calendar and plan on coming to the St. Peter Youth Ministries' Center in Glendale for the test. Its a painless procedure which takes only a few minutes.
4 comments:
I found a website that has some riddles. So I thought I'd share some with you:
Riddle: A woman has 7 children. Half of them are boys. How is this possible?
Answer: ALL the children are boys, so 1/2 half are boys and so is the other half.
I'll send you another riddle tomorrow! Keep your spirits up!
Love,
Anush
HUGS!
<3 Ani
Wishing you all of God's blessings during this New Year.
Love,
Christine
I had such a nice time visiting with you and your cousin on New Years Day. My wish for you is one of health, happiness and God's healing and love in the New year and always!
Thanks for teaching me about soccer. Hope to see you soon.
Love,
Anush