‘I still want to cry because this trip made Rusty so happy’

On May 12 West Carrollton 19-year-old Russell “Rusty” Plemons and his family received news nobody wants to hear. Rusty was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia.

AML is a rapid-growing form of cancer of the blood and bone marrow. AML is the most common type of acute leukemia and occurs when the bone marrow begins to make cells that have not yet completely matured. In AML, these cells do not develop and are unable to fight off infections.

Another side effect of AML can cause bone marrow to make abnormal red blood cells and platelets. The number of these abnormal cells increases rapidly, and the abnormal cells begin to crowd out the normal white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets that the body needs.

Treatment varies when it comes to AML, but Rusty’s treatment included an allogeneic stem cell transplant. This is the most common type of SCT used to treat AML.

In an allogeneic SCT, the stem cells come from someone other than the patient — usually, a donor whose tissue type closely matches the patient’s, and in Rusty’s case his savior was a gentleman from Germany. He was located via a site called bethematch.com, the largest and most diverse marrow registry in the world. His doctors did the research and per Brandie Cobb, Rusty’s mother, “The donor was a perfect 10 point match! They didn’t even have to take samples from family members because they found him so quickly and he was perfect!” The closer a tissue match, the better the chance the transplanted cells will take and begin making new blood cells.

One of the most serious complications of allogeneic SCT is known as graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). It happens when the patient’s immune system is taken over by that of the donor. When this happens, the donor immune system may consider the patient’s own body tissues to be foreign and attacks them.

Unfortunately, this is exactly what happened to Rusty after his transplant in September 2016. Luckily it was a mild form of GVHD and has been successfully treated with steroids.

Almost a year to the date, May 14 to be exact, Rusty and his family set off on their trip to Florida’s Give Kids the World, Walt Disney World, Universal Studios and a family favorite, Daytona Beach.

Brandie Cobb exclaimed, “I still want to cry because this trip made Rusty so happy! I can’t express what a relief it was to go on a trip like this after a year like the one we’ve had. For one entire week, Rusty and our entire family were able to forget the hospital stays and the treatments. We were able to simply have an amazing experience and forget about real life for a while. I will never be able to thank A Special Wish Foundation for doing this for us!”

Rusty’s most memorable part of the trip was his visit to Daytona Beach. “He hadn’t been to the ocean since he was a little boy,” Cobb said. “He loved being able to spend his time by the water and he also really enjoyed spending time at Give Kids the World. Rusty was able to bring along his little cousin, and quite frankly, nobody is ever too old to enjoy Walt Disney World.”

When asked what Cobb learned through their experience, she said, “I learned how strong my son really is. Throughout this entire experience, it gave my son the chance to open up to me. To discuss with me his thoughts and feelings about being sick. He’s not your average 19 year old, and I really learned how much he can really do and how strong he truly is.”

After Rusty’s trip, he continued with his online high school courses, and on Sunday, June 4, Rusty will graduate from Tecumseh High School. “All I wanted was for Rusty to graduate from high school!” said Cobb. “That was my greatest hope. He was determined, worked hard and he finished what he set out to do!”

Help A Special Wish

We hope you will consider joining ASW in honoring the children who have been through so much in their very young lives. By making a donation, you can help make a special wish come true. Your gift stays within the community and will help grant the wish of a local child, who is battling a life-threatening disorder. All wishes granted to local children will offer moments of laughter, smiles but most importantly memories that will last a lifetime for the entire family. To make a contribution, log on to www.aspecialwishdayton.org or call 937-223-WISH (9474.) Thank you for your consideration from all of us at A Special Wish Foundation – Dayton.

A Special Wish Foundation-Dayton Chapter is the only wish granting organization located in the Dayton region. For more information on how you can be part of granting a local child’s wish, go online to www.aspecialwishdayton.org.

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