Myron B. Pitts: Gifted teen needs help finding bone marrow donor
ContributedMyron B. Pitts: Gifted teenager needs help finding a bone marrow donor
Handley
Posted: Tuesday, April 28, 2015 12:00 am | Updated: 8:59 am, Wed Apr 29, 2015.
Trent Handley, 13, is in many ways typical for his age - he likes to play video games and is a fan of Superman.
But probably not a lot of teens list their favorite piece of music as Beethoven's "Für Elise." Trent loves classical and gospel music, and can play the upright bass, cello and keyboard, which he learned to play by ear.
"He just has a gift God gave him," says his mom, Ji-Kena Handley.
But Trent is even more rare in one unfortunate way - he was diagnosed in March with myeloid/natural killer cell leukemia. Only about 30 people worldwide have the disease.
He needs a bone marrow transplant. A bone marrow drive is scheduled for Saturday, organized by members of Trent's church, New Beginnings Christian, and Be The Match, a national donor program. People between 18 and 44 who are generally healthy are encouraged to drop by. All that is required is to fill out a form and get a cheek swab to be added to the bone marrow registry.
Minority and mixed-race donors are particularly sought. A donor's tissue needs to match the recipient's as closely as possible. The odds go up when they are of the same race.
Since a lower percentage of minorities than whites are listed on the registry, minority patients like Trent have fewer options.
Trent has a twin brother, Tyuss, but he is not a match and Trent's parents are only partial matches. This is not unusual - family members are a match just 30 percent of the time, according to federal figures.
Trent's mother and father, Larry, say he keeps a good attitude as the family goes back and forth to Chapel Hill for aggressive chemotherapy. His treatment has taken him away from classes at Reid Ross Classical, where he was on the A/B honor roll. He has a private teacher now.
One of Trent's doctors asked him if he had reached the point where he'd gotten angry.
But his parents say he has been showing his typically happy personality.
"He's been an inspiration to everyone, including the nurses," Ji-Kena says.
The parents say church members and their pastor, the Rev. Ronnie Moore, have been a great help.
One church member started a GoFundMe page for the family to help with medical bills and travel.
"We really consider them good friends as well as a church family," Larry says.
Ji-Kena stressed again the need for minority donors on Saturday.
"They're just not testing for our son. They're testing for any children, and other kinds of blood cancer.
"It's about leukemia awareness. We had a crash course."
And we're all pulling for their bass-playing Superman.
Columnist Myron B. Pitts can be reached at pittsm@fayobserver.com or 486-3559.
