7-month-old baby in desperate need of a bone marrow transplant

[Breeze54]

Company Donates Billboard To Help Baby Giovanni

http://wbztv.com/local/local_story_072201105.html

Mar 13, 2007 8:36 pm US/Eastern

(WBZ) STONEHAM -

A Stoneham company is doing what it can to help save the life of a 7-month-old baby in desperate need of a bone marrow transplant.



Clear Channel Outdoor is donating billboard space to the Guglielmo family, whose infant son, Giovanni, has a very rare, and severe immune deficiency disorder. The only way Giovanni will be able to survive his condition is for him to have a bone marrow transplant from a donor with a similar background.

The billboard, which will be located in South Boston, highlights the urgent need to find a match for the infant. It also promotes a campaign created by Michael Guglielma, the father of Baby Giovanni, called "Save Giovanni's Friends."

Michael started Save Giovanni's Friends in hopes of increasing the number of people who participate in the National Marrow Donor Program Registry. "Thirty-five percent of the kids waiting for a bone marrow match, they die asking Mommy or Daddy, 'Did I get a match today?,'" said Michael.

This week, Giovanni starts chemotherapy, but it's a transplant he really needs, and since the odds
of finding a match are one in 20,000, this is his latest hope of reeling in a lifeline.
According to Baby Giovanni's Web site, more than 3,000 donors have been added to the registry from Giovanni drives.

For more information on Baby Giovanni's condition and how you can help,
go to www.helpgiovanniguglielmo.org or www.savegiovanni.org.

If you are interested in becoming a bone marrow donor, go to National Marrow Donor Program's Web site.
You can get a bone marrow kit to test yourself at home.
http://join.marrow.org/G022007

---------------

Save Giovanni

The Below Items Are Offered for Sale (Paypal)
http://helpgiovanniguglielmo.org/giovannisale.aspx

2005 Harley Davidson FXDX Superglide w/ Thunder Headers. Start bidding at $16,500


Four bedroom colonial with 2 1/2 bath. Start the bidding at $365,000


Other Items for sale:

Hand made jewelry box. Send a bid
Us Post Office Truck Bank. Send a bid First bid: $45.00
Hand strunt and laminated fishing net. Send a bid
Hand made boat. Send a bid. First bid: $45.00

I wish I had the money to help buy this stuff....

[ComerPerro]

1. "save Giovannis freinds"

a face like that is a great motivator. Adorable

[Breeze54]

3. They are seeking Greeks & Italians for the bone marrow....

He is adorable! So damn cute! Poor little thing....

snip-->

http://helpgiovanniguglielmo.org/Greeks.aspx

The Greeks Are Here!

Greek Save Giovanni sponsor www.marksmotorsinc.com/

Some of you may have heard about Giovanni, a Greek/Italian baby from NH
who needs a bone marrow transplant to live.
Giovanni's dad is Italian, his mom Greek. Her name Poulicakos.
He's one of ours.

GreekBoston.com has advertised Giovanni's site for over a month, but
the Greek community has done little to help Giovanni or his family.
Greek radio WNTN 1550 has also joined the Save Giovanni crusade.

The Italians, with the Italian Consulate General of Boston, have done everything listed below.


* RAI International TV ran stories about Giovanni worldwide,

* Italian TV Zoom did a show,

* Italian Radio and newspapers have ran spots on Giovanni

* The Italian Consulate of Boston is holding a bone marrow drive,

* And Italians have even launched a website for Giovanni

* See http://www.salviamogiovanni.org/


We Greeks are underrepresented in helping Giovanni.

The bone marrow test involves four cotton swabs rubbed inside the mouth.
If you're a match the marrow is taken from your hip under anesthesia.

With little pain, you can save Giovanni or another child.

So to my fellow Greeks:
I challenge you to organize bone marrow drives and fundraisers,
hang his posters, email friends, get tested, anything.
Please, for Giovanni and all the children who deserve life lets help.

------------------------------

I'm not Greek or Italian. I didn't know that would matter!

[renate]

12. wow... just some cotton swabs?

Eight years ago, I had to give blood and pay $40 to get on the list.

Four cotton swabs? WHATTA DEAL! Come on up folks, swab your cheeks and save a life! You pays no money and you takes no chances!

[Breeze54]

15. That IS cool and painless! No blood!

You can get a bone marrow kit to test yourself at home.
http://join.marrow.org/G022007

[nonconformist]

39. Thanks for the link - I just signed up. I'm Mediterranean

Sicilian, actually, so there's a chance I could match on the Italian or Greek side for Giovanni. Hopefully I'll be a match for someone out there!

[Breeze54]

43. That's awesome, nonconformist!! WOOT!!

:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:

:hug:

[NanceGreggs]

2. PLEASE, everyone reading this ...

... registering as a bone-marrow donor takes very little time and effort - a simple blood test will do it - and you COULD SAVE A LIFE.

A friend of mine (who is also on the donor list) has been matched-up and donated THREE times. It's day surgery, and he's never missed a day's work because of it - says the discomfort caused by the surgery is nothing that a couple of aspirin can't eliminate completely.

The payoff? He has saved THREE lives!

Call the Red Cross and sign up!

[Breeze54]

7. Thanks Nancy.

:yourock:

[Skittles]

17. I've been on the registry for decades

and have donated 21 gallons of blood and platelets - come on people, you're always saying you're compassionate - SHOW SOME OF THAT COMPASSION

[Breeze54]

24. You are to be commended!

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

:applause: :applause:

[BlooInBloo]

4. I got bone marrow! Lemme know if it can be useful.

[BlooInBloo]

5. Aw shit - I'm not Mediterranean - sorry.

[Breeze54]

6. You never know!

I'm going to send for a test kit anyway.

[BlooInBloo]

14. Oh - cool - I'll try it then.

[wicket]

25. When I get paid next week I'm going to send away for a kit

Wish I had the $52 right now :(

[Breeze54]

27. You don't have to pay for it!! Use the code- G022007 !

National Marrow Donor Program
www.marrow.org

JOIN THE NATIONAL MARROW DONOR
PROGRAM® (NMDP) REGISTRY.

http://helpgiovanniguglielmo.org/National.aspx

Every day, thousands of patients just like Giovanni are searching for a matching marrow or blood cell donor--someone just like you—who is committed to giving patients with life-threatening diseases a second chance at life. To join the Registry, you must be 18 to 60, in good health and committed to helping any patient in need. To join online, visit http://join.marrow.org/G022007.

The registration process is very simple. Once you register online, you will receive a kit in the mail. The kit contains everything you need including kit instructions and a postage-paid return envelope. When you mail back the kit, your tissue is typed and your name is added to the national Registry. If you are a match, the NMDP will contact you for further evaluation.

Through the generous financial support of the NMDP, its fundraising partner, The Marrow Foundation, and people like you, a fund has been established to cover the $52 tissue typing cost. When you use promo code G022007, the $52 tissue typing fee will be covered by the Save Giovanni Fund. You may also choose to pay the $52 yourself or contribute additionally to the Save Giovanni Fund.

Just donate when you get some money but get the kit now! ;)

[wicket]

29. Thank-you!

I just tried to sign up but it won't let me, I had to enter my weight and I'm considered too heavy to do it right now. Once I lose more weight I will try again. Dammit, I really want to help people :(

[Breeze54]

32. That's probably a very common problem,

with potential donors. But they have other ways to help.
Maybe you could attend a fund raiser or throw one!

Here's a list of past and upcoming events to raise donors and funds.

http://helpgiovanniguglielmo.org/Donors.aspx

---------------------------

Write a letter to Oprah! ;)

http://helpgiovanniguglielmo.org/Oprah.aspx

Oprah Winfrey Do A Giovanni Show

We have written Oprah Windfrey's show and asked that she do a show about Giovanni.
To reinforce our request Christina and I would respectfully ask that all Giovanni
visitors send Oprah producers an email asking for a show on Giovanni.

Please send her a request by hitting the below hyperlink.
http://www2.oprah.com/email/reach/email_showideas.jhtml


Oprah Winfrey Do A Giovanni Show

No call from Oprah yet, but Giovanni's waiting.....

There are a lot of ways to help this baby and other needy people waiting.

[NanceGreggs]

8. It doesn't matter ...

... you may not be a match for Giovanni, but you COULD be a match for another person in need.

I signed up when a dear friend's sister was dying of leukemia. I was not a match for HER, but I MIGHT be a perfect match for someone else. That's how this all works - the more people on the donor list, the LARGER the pool of possibilities.

Sign up - come on, you KNOW it will make you feel GREAT!!!

[renate]

9. I've never been called, but yes, it does make you feel great to be on the list

And I never have to worry that my putting off registering has caused another person's death. I guess that's putting it in really stark terms, but if anybody's wanted to be a bone marrow donor but just hasn't gotten around to registering, this is a rare example of procrastination having potentially life-threatening consequences.

I've been on the list for about eight years and haven't been a match for anybody yet, but who knows... ? Maybe tomorrow. It's a good feeling to be registered.

[NanceGreggs]

10. I've only been called once ...

... for more specific testing, but they found someone who was a much closer match for the recipient than I was.

TALK ABOUT DISAPPOINTMENT ...

But my turn will come. And you're right, it IS a good feeling to be registered.

[pnwmom]

11. So the family has to sell the house to pay for treatment?

This is outrageous.

[Breeze54]

13. I'm not sure but they're traveling 100 miles to the hospital, one way.

Maybe the insurance ran out?

-------

snip-->

March 12, 2007

Saving Giovanni: Day One

http://helpgiovanniguglielmo.org/helpgiovanniguglielmo.aspx

The first thing I saw this morning when I awoke a 4am was a bottle of scotch on my dresser and thought
I should take a slug from it to dull my senses as Christina and I began our 100 mile journey to the side
of Giovanni for the first day of the rest of his life. As we begin the chemo treatment I will chronicle
every step for the book I write, Saving Giovanni, so other parents will have an idea of the transplant process
and how to hold bone marrow drives to save their child. It will be a guide so to speak through hell to eventual
bliss in the survival of one's child one can only hope or pray.

Giovanni began his first two hour chemotherapy treatment of busulfan at 6am to be followed by three others
every six hours for four days.

More at link.....

[Breeze54]

16. Life-saving funds for Baby Giovanni swiped from mall

http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=187399

By Marie Szaniszlo
Friday, March 9, 2007 - Updated: 02:29 AM EST

Less than a week after doctors at Children’s Hospital in Boston announced they had identified
an umbilical-cord donor who could help prolong Baby Giovanni’s life, a heartless thief has made
off with money raised for the infant’s medical expenses. “All I can say is, I hope the police
get him before I do,” the 7-month-old’s father, Michael Guglielmo, said last night.
The theft occurred Tuesday afternoon at the Mall of Rockingham Park in Salem, N.H., where high
school students had set up several donation buckets for Baby Giovanni, who suffers from a rare
immune deficiency disease.

According to a mall employee, a well-dressed man in his late 30s with olive skin and dark hair,
wearing a light-blue shirt and khaki pants, “came up, said he was part of the Giovanni fund,
and he said he was here to pick up the donations,” the employee told WHDH-TV. “The kid that
had the donations at Salem High was the only one that was supposed to be picking up the money.
No one else was supposed to be touching the money.”

The theft comes as Baby Giovanni prepares to begin on Monday 14 days of chemotherapy to
eradicate his immune system before he receives a transplant from an umbilical cord donor.
The Belmont, N.H., infant, who weighs just 10.7 pounds, will then undergo a procedure
called hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, which replaces the defective immune system.
If all goes well, doctors expect the transplant to cure Baby Giovanni’s immune system defect.
But the procedure is not expected to correct other problems caused by NEMO deficiency,
a rare genetic disorder.

-----------------------

Bounty out on thief of Baby Giovanni

http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=187573

By Marie Szaniszlo
Saturday, March 10, 2007 - Updated: 08:40 AM EST

A Vermont man whose own daughter endured a bone-marrow transplant is offering a $1,000 reward
for information leading to the arrest of the degenerate who walked into a New Hampshire mall
this week and ripped off a bucket filled with donations for Baby Giovanni.

“I’ve been through the same thing this family is going through, and I find out some lowlife stole
money that was meant for them,” said Mark Lanoue, whose 5-year-old daughter endured a bone-marrow
transplant when she was 3. “The person who did this is no better than the worst scum of the earth.”

Baby Giovanni’s father, Michael Guglielmo of Belmont, N.H., has agreed to match Lanoue’s reward,
bringing the total to $2,000, and is urging people to contact Brian Blackden, a private detective
who has volunteered his services, at [phone] if they have information about the heartless theft.

More at link.........

-------------------------


OMG!!! ..... They even got a ticket from NH State troopers...

"Thank you NH State Trooper Lt. Ladieu for the $150 ticket on 93 South/Concord
I hope you never have to drive everyday for months to visit your child struggling
for life at Boston Children's Hospital"

------------

I'll add the :sarcasm: emote for him! :grr:

Cripes!!!

$2000 Bounty for coward who stole Giovanni's donations: Call me 603-524-8284

---------------

If it wasn't for bad luck, ......

[GreenPartyVoter]

21. What a creep to steal from a sick baby

[Breeze54]

18. Hard kick for the morning....

:kick:

[Vinca]

19. It's obscene that families are required to go begging for treatment

for their children. There should be no selling of motorcycles, no homes on the auction block. They should be able to appear with their federal health care card for their son to have a bone marrow transplant. All the marrow donors in the world can't save a child without money in this the "greatest" nation on earth.

[GreenPartyVoter]

22. So true!!!

[Breeze54]

23. Agree! It is obscene!

Pols, patients plead for kid health care
By Anita Davis

http://news.bostonherald.com/localPolitics/view.bg?articleid=186616

Tuesday, March 6, 2007 - Updated: 08:42 AM EST

A push for increased federal health-care funding for children won some powerful allies
in Massachusetts yesterday as U.S. Sens. Edward M. Kennedy and John F. Kerry
and Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino backed the effort.

The funding, advocates at the Children’s Hospital press conference said, will help 82,000
Massachusetts residents who rely on the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, which
is set to expire Sept. 30.

At the event, Dedra Lewis said the program saved her daughter Alexsiana’s eyesight
after Lewis lost her health care coverage.


Alexsiana Walker, 9, and Sen. John Kerry wait to speak yesterday
at Boston’s Children’s Hospital. (Staff photo by Mark Garfinkel)

[gravity]

35. Its not as much as a money problem

but that not enough people are on the national registry.

If they can't find a match, all the money in the world is not going to save them.

[Breeze54]

37. But the cost of the test kits

is being paid for by the money donations and medical expenses that aren't covered by insurance.

[GCP]

20. Kick

What an adorable baby.

[hyphenate]

26. I've been deferred from

being a blood donor because of having an autoimmune disorder myself, as well as having a history of heart attacks. I don't know if this prevents me from being a bone marrow donor or not?

[wicket]

28. Medical guidelines

There are some info on medical guidelines to be a donor here:

http://www.marrow.org/HELP/Join_the_Registry/Med_Guidelines_Join/index.html

[hyphenate]

42. Thanks

I checked it out. I can't be a donor, as I suspected. Three strikes and I'm out.

[Breeze54]

30. Here's some contact & medical info for you.

There are many ways to contact the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP).

To contact us by US Postal mail or by telephone, use the information below.

US Postal Mail Address:

National Marrow Donor Program
Suite 500
3001 Broadway Street Northeast
Minneapolis, MN 55413-1753


Phone Numbers:

In the United States and Canada, call toll free:

General Information: (800) MARROW2 (1-800-627-7692)

The Office of Patient Advocacy (OPA): [phone]

----------------------------------------------

Medical Guidelines: Joining the Registry

http://www.marrow.org/HELP/Join_the_Registry/Med_Guidelines_Join/index.html

Medical guidelines are used to determine the suitability of a volunteer to join the registry
with the National Marrow Donor Program as a potential marrow or peripheral blood cell (PBSC) donor.

These guidelines protect the health of the potential volunteer donor and the transplant recipient.

On this page:

Age
AIDS/HIV
Allergies
Arthritis
Asthma
Autoimmune Diseases
Back, Neck, Hip, and Spine
Blood Pressure
Cancer
Cold/Flu
Depression
Diabetes
Epilepsy
Heart Disease
Hepatitis
Immunizations
Lyme Disease
Medications
Organ or Tissue Transplant
Piercing (Body, Skin, Ear)
Pregnancy
Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Tattoos
Travel
Tuberculosis
Weight

----------------

Snip-->


Autoimmune Diseases

Most diseases which may be defined as auto-immune disorders, such as
multiple sclerosis, systemic lupus, chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia,
will prevent you from registering to become a potential volunteer donor.

However, if you have a condition such as Hashimoto's or Graves' disease,
you may be allowed to register as long as the disease has been successfully
treated and you are medically stable.

[hyphenate]

44. Thanks

for that. It's one of three strikes against me. I can't donate. :(

[Breeze54]

45. At least you tried!

That's a good thing! ;)

Maybe you can attend an event or help spread the word instead?

There are events across the country, not just in NH and MA.

I read about one in Illinois, Rhode Island and a few other places. Post them here!
I have to go out for awhile, so I can't babysit this post right now.

Thanks! :)

[Faux pas]

31. This is beyond sad. I wish I could recommend this 20 more times....

I'll give it a kick instead.

[Breeze54]

33. Not to add more misery but

I was reading more on their website and this family already lost one child to this.
Just so sad and unbelievable what some families endure!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Angels in Heaven

http://helpgiovanniguglielmo.org/Angels.aspx



The first child is Andreas, the son of Christina Poulicakos and Nicholas Giammarino,
who would have been the half-brother of Giovanni. After eight hard months of struggle
culminating on life-support Christina and Nick allowed nature to reclaim Andreas in
dignity and respect and discontinued artifical life. He left many beloved family
members and brothers Alexander, Adrian, and Giovanni.

[Faux pas]

34. All this misery for one family is more than their share. I pray that

this beautiful baby gets all the help he needs and that the family doesn't have to lose everything to accomplish it.

[gravity]

36. I have had a bone marrow transplant

I was lucky enough to have a match on the bone marrow registry though. Its a risky procedure, but it is able to cure many life threatening diseases that have no ways to cure. The type of leukemia I had no chance of being cured by chemotherapy or radiation alone, so this was the only option for me.

I encourage everyone to go get on the registry. I believe it costs money if you are white, thats probably why they are raising money, but its free for minorities since there are fewer on the registry currently.

Registering really makes a difference, and even if this boy never finds a match, you will help save other people's lives who otherwise wouldn't have any chance of survival otherwise.

[Breeze54]

38. Use promo code G022007, the $52 Fee covered by the Save Giovanni Fund

Glad you made it, gravity! :hug:


National Marrow Donor Program
www.marrow.org

JOIN THE NATIONAL MARROW DONOR
PROGRAM® (NMDP) REGISTRY.

http://helpgiovanniguglielmo.org/National.aspx

Every day, thousands of patients just like Giovanni are searching for a matching marrow or blood cell donor--
someone just like you—who is committed to giving patients with life-threatening diseases a second chance at life.
To join the Registry, you must be 18 to 60, in good health and committed to helping any patient in need.

To join online, visit http://join.marrow.org/G022007 .

The registration process is very simple. Once you register online, you will receive a kit in the mail.
The kit contains everything you need including kit instructions and a postage-paid return envelope.
When you mail back the kit, your tissue is typed and your name is added to the national Registry.
If you are a match, the NMDP will contact you for further evaluation.

Through the generous financial support of the NMDP, its fundraising partner, The Marrow Foundation,
and people like you, a fund has been established to cover the $52 tissue typing cost.

When you use promo code G022007, the $52 tissue typing fee will be covered by the Save Giovanni Fund.
You may also choose to pay the $52 yourself or contribute additionally to the Save Giovanni Fund.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

40. Spaniard here, but I live in Brazil and have little money. Am I good for anything? -nt

[Breeze54]

41. Of course you are good for something!!!

Go to the Donor website. :hi:

Do they have donor places in Brazil??

JOIN THE NATIONAL MARROW DONOR
PROGRAM® (NMDP) REGISTRY.

http://helpgiovanniguglielmo.org/National.aspx

Every day, thousands of patients just like Giovanni are searching for a matching marrow or blood cell donor--
someone just like you—who is committed to giving patients with life-threatening diseases a second chance at life.

To join the Registry, you must be 18 to 60, in good health and committed to helping any patient in need.

----->> To join online, visit http://join.marrow.org/G022007 .

Use this code to pay for the test kit. G022007

[Breeze54]

46. Baby Giovanni's Billboard Went Up today.

on Seaport Blvd in South Boston, as promised!


http://wbztv.com/health/local_story_072201105.html

[AZBlue]

47. Kick!

With Scottish and German blood I can't help out with the donation, but I can keep this thread on top!

[Breeze54]

48. Thanks AZBlue!

:hug:

I'm of Irish decent, so I probably wouldn't be a good match
for Giovanni either, but I might be a match for someone else. ;)

I'm waiting for my test kit....