Viewing & Funeral

Joseph Lin (July 3, 1974-September 7, 2007)

Friends and relatives will be received at
JOBE FUNERAL HOME
Corner of Beatty Road and Route 48 North
Monroeville, PA 15146
Phone: (412) 856-4747
http://jobefuneralhome.com/

Friday, September 14, 2007 from
2-4pm and 7-9pm



Funeral Service will be held at
Pittsburgh Chinese Church - Perry Location
8711 Old Perry Hwy.
Pittsburgh, PA 15237
Phone: (412)366-9770
http://www.pghchinesechurch.org/en/pcc_locate.htm

Saturday, September 15, 2007 at
10:30am

Lunch will be provided immediately after the service in the church social hall.
~~~~~
Memorial contributions maybe made to the
Cammy Lee Leukemia Foundation
16 West 32 St., Suite 10D
New York, NY 10001-3808

or

Pittsburgh Chinese Church
8711 Old Perry Hwy.
Pittsburgh, PA 15237

or

any of the other charities listed in our links. Thank you.

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

Random

It seems that everyone wants to be like Joe. Apparently, even Britney has gotten the "I-wanna-be-like-Joe" bug. Either that or she has decided to become an avid supporter of AAMDS. Then again, maybe she is just being Britney. I think that as long as Joe doesn't try to be like Britney and get "something dainty" like a tattoo of "cute little lips on [his] wrist" everything will be okay.

---

We had some more visitors yesterday. Ray is a new friend that we met...yesterday! Ed is the guy who helped to revamp the fliers used for the bone marrow drives held in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. We actually met him for the first time yesterday as well. Jurica was one of our small group leaders back in Philadelphia. She was totally awesome. Ed spoke at PCC-Oakland this morning, and Ray and Jurica tagged along to be supportive. We had a great time chatting with them yesterday and catching up on things as well as learning new things. Good times!

---

Actually, this Friday there will be another CLLF sponsored minority based bone marrow drive at CMU. Once again, the Lambdas will be hosting. There will also be another bone marrow drive coming up in the next month or two at Pitt. APAMSA will be working with CLLF.

---

Our dear friend Lisa recently brought a relevant article to my attention.

Tuskegee's ghosts: Fear hinders black marrow donation

---
Happy Chinese New Year everyone!
Thank you Julia for making Joe some homemade chicken soup. Yum!

Final Verdict.

I wanted to share a photo from a bone marrow drive at the end of November. Our friend Eddie, (who will always be a Pittsburgher even though he's now living in North Carolina) worked with Maria from CLLF and Pastor Elijah from Chinese Bible Church of N.C. to host a drive. We are so thankful to all three of them, as well as the church for their participation and prayers. If it weren't for all the people who are registering to be donors, Joe might still be searching for the right match.

Speaking of which...Joe's donor has officially been chosen, and the selection has been sealed! The winner is...the 21 year old female. Despite the initial doubts of the NMDP about her committment, she has been following through with all of her appointments. She was the ultimate winner because of her age, and because Joe's doctors prefer a PBSC donation to a bone marrow donation. (If you recall, the 37 year old male was only able to be a bone marrow donor.) Joe will be admitted to the hospital on January 3. That will be a tough day. Joe will be getting a bone marrow biopsy and a lumbar puncture. He'll also have a central line put in, and begin chemo. Joe will be given chemo for 5 days. On January 8th, Joe gets a "vacation day." At least from chemo. January 9th will be "Day 0" - transplant day. Meanwhile, Joe's donor will be getting five days of filgrastim injections. PBSC cells will be harvested on the 8th and the 9th. It won't be such a walk in the park for her either. We are SO grateful to her for doing this. Wow, everything is moving so fast.

Joe had his blood drawn today. Everything looks about the same. The good thing is that Joe still feels well, and there wasn't another drastic drop.

Thank you, thank you to everyone for being so loving and encouraging. As transplant day rolls near, and everything is actually being scheduled, we are realizing how real this is! Everyone has been amazing. Simply amazing.

Thank you to Mike & Amy, and Crystal for the fun gifts. You are each so sweet.
Thanks to mom and dad for the food! And thanks to Victor for playing with us and being such a great brother. (Awwwww...)

For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given,

and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

~Isaiah 9:6

Happy November!

Joe had a dentist appointment today. Now his smile is even brighter than before! His hygienist was really sweet. She has her own inspiring story, which she shared with Joe. After Joe's appointment, the hygienist actually called me back so she could share a bit with me, and give me some encouragement. I thought that was so sweet. :)

On Friday, Joe has his appointment with the doctor. I can't believe that next week will be round 5 of his chemo treatments. I imagine on Friday we'll have a better idea of what our next few months will look like. I'm not sure if this makes me relieved or anxious. Both I guess.

Here's something cute my mom passed on to me after receiving it from a missionary back home...

Daily Christian Wisdom

Being a Christian is like being a pumpkin. God lifts you up, takes you in, and washes all the dirt off of you...Then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside you to shine for all the world to see.
-Unknown
***

Lot of praise and thanks today.

Praise God, because 355 registered to be donors at the drive in honor of Baby Livi. How awesome is that? Yay for everyone who attended.

Thank you to our neighbor Cathy for the really yummy pumpkin bread. Made from scratch even.

Thank you to Myra and Sheru for dinnering with us last night. It was really fun hanging out with the two of you and hearing all of your stories!

Thanks to Eddie who has been working with CLLF hold a drive in North Carolina! We miss you Eddie!

Thank you to my CrossRoad girls. It is so wonderful to have your love, support and encouragement.

***

I have info on Cammy Lee drives for November! Spread the Word!

Nov. 8
Virginia Commonwealth
College Avenue
Richmond, VA
11am-5pm

Nov. 10
Columbia University
New York, NY
11am-5pm

Nov 14-15
Virginia Tech
Williamsburg Room of Squires Student Center
Blacksburg, VA
9am-9pm ,9am-8pm

Nov 15 or 16
Stonybrook University, NY
11am-5pm
(not confirmed at this time)

Nov 26
Apex Chinese Church
Apex, NC
11am-5pm

Nov 27
Duke University
Durham, NC
11am-5pm

So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
~Isaiah 41.10

End of Round 4!

We didn't get a call today stating that Joe's perfect match was found. We haven't lost hope either. There is always next week!

Today Joe had the last of his injections for round 4. YAY!!!!! I know he is way happy about being done for a few weeks. Me too! The results of Joe's blood draw showed a little dip in his WBC, so they are back to "right under average." Not too bad. Joe's platelets look good. And funny enough, his RBC are now on the high side of normal. Hopefully they stabilize. It seems weird that they suddenly just keep going up.

I snapped a picture of the view from the top floor of the hospital parking garage. Can't tell from the photo that the weather is getting COLD!

Please pray for Christine. I've mentioned her in the past, and posted some of her poems. She is an amazing person, and is very much a poster girl for minorities who need bone marrow and PBSC transplants. We were so excited a few weeks ago when we found out that after a very risky partial-match transplant the marrow had grafted. Unfortunately, this past week things haven't been looking so good. Christine is experiencing many complications. We don't know her, but she has been such a source of inspiration. Keep her in your prayers.

On the same note, there will be a fundraiser and bone marrow drive in LA, in Christine's name as well as her friend Jeremy. Click here for more info.

And of course, lest you think I've been slacking! I have more bone marrow drive info from CLLF!

Friday, Oct.20
11am-6pm
Drexel University
Creese Student Center
Philadelphia, PA

Mon, Oct. 23
11am-4pm
John Hopkins University
3400 Charles St.
Baltimore, MD

Wed, Nov 8
11am-5pm
Virginia Commonwealth
011 College Ave
Richmond, VA

Tues, Nov 14-15
10am-8pm
Virginia Tech
Williamsburg Room of Squires Student Center
Blacksburg, VA

Spread the word, spread the word, spread the word!!!!!!

Thank you to Yi-Ting and my 3rd auntie and uncle for the sweet cards. You are the best!
Thank you to hubby Joe for the second best gift ever. (You being all better will be the BEST gift ever! Of course, if we want to get all technical and sappy, you are the best gift ever.) I'm praying for you always!

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life - in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.
~Philippians 2:14-18