Marrow Trek

Hello again,

I'm blogging this time to implore you to support a good (no, dare I say great) cause. One of my best friends from college, Jim Schoettler, called me a few weeks ago to obtain my input on a "project" he was working on. Knowing Jim, I was pretty sure this project involved snots and a dartboard, but I was mildly shocked and quite touched when he revealed his heart and his motivation to raise awareness about bone marrow transplants and the need for bone marrow donors. I enthusiastically jumped on board his project as well. Jim, of his own volition, contacted the Dana Farber Cancer Institute for sponsorship. I also put him in touch with the Cammy Lee Leukemia Foundation (who helped me with several bone marrow drives). This summer, Jim and another close friend of his, Jesse, from our college days (both experienced expert hikers) are planning a 4 month 3,100 mile trek across the Continental Divide Trail spanning the Mexican border to the Canadian border. They are asking for pledges (monetary and otherwise) for their trek with all proceeds going to support the above organizations. We are also currently working on getting more big organizations/corporations for sponsorship. With any luck, Jim and Jesse will be donning jumpsuits a la NASCAR style on their journey! ("Shake and bake") I know you're thinking that mountain goats and lizards and such may not really appreciate Tide or Marlboro or Coors Light logos. In fact, Jim and Jesse may inadvertently be walking targets for horny moose, but that is neither here nor there... All joking aside, Jim has set up a website, marrowtrek.org or marrowtrek.com, where you can find out more details and follow their progress. Incidentally, Jim is a great photographer (check out jdschoettler.com), so you may enjoy some amazing pictures along the way.

If you look carefully at the website, I am on the "executive" committee (aka CEO, aka the Big Kahuna, aka the Face of cancer). Bio available shortly... Actually, I think my official title is "peon". Checks, of course, can be made payable to "The Joseph Lin Personal Fund". Just kidding! (Note: the preceding was a JOKE). The donation process is laid out easily on the website. Within a week or so, a comically gigantic needle will be sent to you. All you have to do is stick it in the meaty part of your thigh... Again, just kidding. Just check out the website.

Recently, besides me, another close friend of Jim's has had an urgent need for a bone marrow transplant and is now still currently looking for a donor. While I have been extremely fortunate to find my donor and be transplanted within six months, many people out there have had to search for years or have died in the search process. There is something like a 1 in 20,000 chance that a patient finds a perfect match and the odds are even worse for minorities and mixed races. I think I've said this before, but only one person has ever found a match through their own bone marrow drive efforts. The numbers of people registered in the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) are unacceptably low. So, please please please consider contributing to this cause, if not monetarily to help support organizations like CLLF and Dana Farber to fund drives and research, then to motivate yourself and others to be put on the registry. I obviously have been a beneficiary of such efforts of other people, and I would be remiss, especially as a doctor myself, not to encourage this.

Jim and I were roommates for three years at Stanford. He's a straight up good guy so I can vouch for him. His mother, our treasurer on this endeavor, was the former Lieutenant Governor and Treasurer of Colorado for goodness sake, so you can be sure the money is going to the right place. Jim's a free spirit and one of the brightest people I know. When he commits himself to hiking over 3000 miles and helping good causes along the way, you can be sure he'll do it. And Jesse, even though I don't know him quite as well, I know he is cut from the same mold. In fact, these guys have done similar hikes before. If you look up "Colorado mountain man" in the dictionary, well, you'd find a definition of a male who hails from the Western region of the Unites States where there are many areas comprised of impressive natural elevations above the earth's surface. No, of course, you would see a picture of Jim as the definition. He's ruggedly handsome, physically fit, and maybe even available. I tell you, if I were a woman (wait a sec...), I'd probably marry him on the spot.

Whoa, I'm totally getting sidetracked here... In all seriousness, please check out marrowtrek.org. And don't just check it out, make it your home.
It would rock my world.

Joe