Sponsor Sheila for the Keskinada and support the Bone Marrow Transplant Fund
By:  Sheila Kealey   (2006/02/01)

This year's Keskinada loppet will serve as a fund-raising event for the Little Angels and Bone Marrow Transplant Fund of the Ottawa Hospital.This fund assists bone marrow transplant patients who are in financial need.

I will be skiing the 53km skate event on February 19 and will be collecting pledges in support of this effort.

As a cancer researcher and sister of a transplant recipient, bone marrow transplants have a special meaning for me. These complex procedures are sometimes used when cancer is advanced or has recurred, or as the main treatment in some types of leukemia or lymphoma. My sister Susan underwent a bone marrow transplant for leukemia in 1981, when the procedure was still experimental. Susan struggled with medical complications which eventually took her life 6 years ago. She was always a fighter, displaying enormous energy and creativity, and the transplant allowed her to live a full and accomplished life, albeit too short. She became an accomplished visual artist despite being legally blind from graft-versus-host disease, a condition that occurs when transplanted marrow fights the host body.

If you're interested in supporting the Little Angels and Bone Marrow Transplant Fund, here's what you can do:

Send a cheque payable to "The Ottawa Hospital Foundation" to

Please clearly indicate your name, address, telephone number. Add your e-mail address if you want (just so I can thank you, update you on my race and fund raising efforts). Tax receipts will be issued for donations of $15 or more.

OR , if you would like to donate electronically, you can go to the Ottawa Hospital Foundation donation form by clicking on this link:

When you reach the portion that says: “Please direct my gift to:” select “Other – please specify” and enter “Little Angels – Keskinada”

The Little Angels and Bone Marrow Transplant Fund supports families affected by bone marrow transplants with odd expenses. For example, the fund can provide money for childcare, parking, for families from out of town to stay in a hotel, or even fly a child to Ottawa to visit an ill or dying parent in the hospital.

Many thanks to Diane George Wiggins for setting up the fund, and Evelyn Stone for coordinating the Keskinada fund raising effort.