Lone Star Circle of Life Bike Tour

Local Events: Houston

Day 1:

Saturday, October 3, 2009
Houston Kick Off Event

The Lone Star Circle of Life team will kick off the 2009 tour in Houston on Saturday, October 3. The local event will be held at the new LifeGift facility at 2510 Westridge, Houston, 77054. The team will arrive at LifeGift at 8:30 a.m. to meet their honorees and tell about why they are riding in the 2009 Lone Star Circle of Life Bike Tour, then the riders will introduce the person they are honoring. Following the reception, the team will leave for College Station, officially kicking off the 2009 tour.

Information about blood, tissue and organ donation will be available on-site and a drive for the National Marrow Donor Program Registry will be held. More information about the event will be posted as it becomes available.

Event Coordinator

For more information, contact:

Anne Marie Cervenka
Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center
1400 La Concha Lane
Houston, TX 77054
Phone: 713-791-6697

Day Riders

Denise Van Kuiken – “I am fortunate to work for LifeGift. Every day in my work I see incredible people, who, in their time of grief can still think of others and say “YES” to organ and tissue donation. I ride in honor of them and the people they have saved!”

Kimberly Davis – “As a Managing Director at LifeGift, I've worked to further organ and tissue donation in southeast Texas for the past 20 years. I so enjoyed the two times I've ridden before and I'd be very proud to do so again.”

Beatrice Hodgson – “I want to ride to raise awareness on organ and tissue donation.”

Steve Marucci – “I’m involved with Organ and Tissue donation on a daily basis. I lead teams in the recovery of organs and tissues for transplantation in addition to educating the public on the uses and needs for donation.”

Jessica Leibold - Jessica rides because she believes in organ and tissue donation as a gift.

Ken Cole - Ken rides to support donation.

Basil Housewright – The tour title honoree, Brian Brasseaux, was a friend and his family continue to be my family’s friends. His widow Christine is a running coach of our local marathon training group. Her strength to persevere inspire us all. I am a cancer survivor, diagnosed with non-hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1999. I run marathons and have completed four MS-150 rides. I love riding and am honored to be a day rider with the team.

Honorees

Brian Brasseaux – Organ and Tissue Donor
Brian Brasseaux was a loving husband, father, brother and friend. Married to his high-school sweetheart, Christine, for 17 years, they shared a love that a lot of people never have the opportunity to experience. Unfortunately, their life together ended abruptly on November 4, 2007.

Brian and Christine met while still in high school and married several years later. They settled down in Sugar Land, Texas and had four wonderful children, Trey, James, Erin and Kelly. Their four-bedroom house was busting at the seams. Brian was a very caring, loyal person who loved life and lived it to the fullest. He believed in helping the underdog and giving people a chance. He was a gifted athlete who excelled in all sports and even had the New York Mets look at him for baseball. There was a history of heart disease in Brian’s family. Christine and Brian recognized the family history and would discuss it and pay particular attention to diet and exercise.

On November 4, 2007, Brian went out for a bike ride. It was time for dinner and Christine has sent their oldest son, Trey, to call Brian in. Trey found his father lying on the ground at the front door and came to tell Christine something was wrong. Christine started CPR, but Brian did not make it. The Brasseaux family was devastated. They had lost their fabulous father and Christine had lost the love of her life. Christine knew immediately that Brian would want to give his organs to anyone who might need them. That decision was easy. Christine was asked to donate his eyes, his skin and even his heart. In true Aggie spirit, the last thing they asked Christine for was Brian’s thumb. Christine’s response was “of course you can have the Aggie thumb!”

The Brasseaux’s are blessed to have each other and are thankful that Brian was in their life for as long as he was. Christine knows her life is better for having known him and loved him. Her focus is now on their children and raising them to be as caring, loving, loyal and decent as their father was.

Winn Davis- Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Donor
It all started when I was donating blood at Saint Vincent de Paul’s one Sunday after Mass. A young lady asked if I would like to sign up to be in the Bone Marrow program. All I could think of initially was needles, pain, and inconvenience. I also thought “what are the chances they would ever really need me?” I did sign up, and listed my sister-in-law as a way to reach me just in case my number changed. In hindsight that turned out well. My wife and I moved months after I put my name on “the list”. As life moved on, my wife and I bought a house, had a terrific little boy and she was pregnant again – really pregnant – with triplets. Being on the donor list was the furthest thing from my mind.

My sister-in-law mentioned to me one day, almost in passing, that someone called from the Bone Marrow program. They asked if I had your new phone number and she said she had given it to them. Then one night, I was getting ready to go on a run and the phone rings. I answer not having any idea who was on the other line. That is where everything changed. There was a young lady on the phone, Carrie, asking if I remembered signing up to be on the marrow donor’s list. I did remember. Carrie said that I might be a match for someone. “Uh oh”, I thought, “I have a lot going on right now. Work was busy, we had a one year old, and my wife was pregnant”.

I ended up talking with Carrie for about 45 minutes that night. She answered a lot of my questions before I could ask them. The key one she covered was how little pain was involved. Pain is not really the issue, needles are, and I had passed on getting flu shots for years due to the thought of a needle. By the time Carrie and I finished talking I had made up my mind to go forward. I was still focusing on me, though. The other person lying in a bed in some far away land was just entering my awareness.

Carrie then turned me over to a lady named Leslie. Leslie arranged additional testing and gave me more details on the process and what all was expected of me. Through the testing process I got to know Leslie and a nurse by the name of Martha well. They are about two of nicest people you will meet and most of all they are very re-assuring. Actually, every one I met or spoke to were all exceptional people. It turned out that I was a great match for a lady that lived somewhere. I guess that is when it started hitting me that there was another person involved. Not a person with a cold, or some other little sickness, but someone who was fighting cancer and just trying to survive to see another day, or spend another hour with some one in their family.

My Grandfather passed away a few weeks before I was scheduled to donate. At his funeral, I saw family members I had not seen since I was a kid. Of course they were all so very sad to see him pass and I bet all of them would have done anything possible to spend another hour, day, or week with him. I could tell this by all the redness in their eyes and the sadness in their faces.

My two days to donate were coming up and that meant I needed to get my five shots. With my wife being six months pregnant and me helping with our two year old, Martha just came to my house to give me my shots at 7:30 every morning. I do need to add, the shots did not hurt and as I mentioned above, I do not like shots. My calendar was getting tighter and tighter, not to mention my beautiful wife was carrying around three little dudes and day to day tasks were now almost impossible for her to do. I was scheduled to go out of town for work after the collection and my first concern was will I be okay to travel and then spend three days on my feet working a conference? The answer on all accounts was yes. The collection was on Nov 6th & 7th and I heard from Leslie that my stem cells had been delivered and the lady went home for Thanksgiving. It was only a matter of time now. The fact she got to go home for Thanksgiving was awesome.

Speaking of time, my wife woke me up just after midnight on Dec 1st. It was time to go to the hospital, thankfully we live very close. They were not due until mid February but one of the little dudes wanted out now so that meant they all had to come. Our three new baby boys were born on Dec 1st at 29 weeks. It was intense and very stressful with a lot of days and nights spent at the hospital. By the Grace of God and with great medical care they all survived and are doing very well now.

After attending my Grandfathers funeral, seeing my then two year old son everyday, my wife and all she went through in her pregnancy, the birth of the triplets, and the unbelievable effort by the Doctors and Nurses it really is very simple. It is not about you or me, it is about everyone else. Sure you need to make sure you feed yourself, get sleep, etc., but the more you do for the others, the more you get, in overwhelming amounts.

I think most anyone would do anything they could to help a grieving family spend an extra year, day, or even an hour with a loved one. Donating stem cells or bone marrow does exactly that.

Jimmy R. Quimby - BoneMarrow Donor
I got involved in the registry because I wanted to “Pay-Forward” to someone else what was given to me and my family.

My oldest son Christopher (five years-old at the time of the donation) donated stem cells to his younger brother Joshua (two years-old at the time) in 1998. Joshua received the cells on October 1, 1998 and today is a normal, healthy 12 year-old boy because of the unselfish act of his brother.

I have been a blood and platelet donor for many years and I signed up on the registry because I wanted to, if ever given the opportunity, make a difference by being a bone marrow donor. God has blessed me and my family and it is my hope that be hearing my story, someone will be willing to become a donor as well. It is my desire to someday meet the recipient and welcome them into my family.

Judy Goodwell– Blood and Platelet Donor
For more than a decade, Judy Goodwell has been dedicated to one cause – saving lives.

In April of 1989, Judy was told her one donation could potentially help save the lives of three individuals. The facts were enough for Judy to make the decision to make her very first donation.

A few years and several donations later, Judy took her commitment one step further. Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center staff informed Judy that if she became a platelet donor she could donate more frequently and help the many cancer patients awaiting life-saving platelet transfusions. So in 2003, Judy became a platelet donor and even registered to be one of the first individuals to become a Commit for Life member.

After donating whole blood and platelets, Judy knew there was one more thing she could do to help patients in our area. She registered with the National Marrow Donor Program to one day help save the life of another patient in need.

RogerContreras – Blood and Marrow Recipient
At age 40, Roger Contreras couldn’t have felt in better condition. He was working as a plumbing superintendent taking on projects left and right. One day as he took a “break” from work to finish up tasks around the yard, he felt something that would forever change his life. He was taking out the trash, when his knees buckled, he began breathing hard and feeling dizzy.

After several tests, doctors informed Roger that everything he was experiencing was being caused by a disease known as Myelodysplastic Syndrome, a disease in which the bone marrow does not produce enough healthy blood cells. The diagnosis devastated Roger and his family as they knew the journey to finding a cure that would require a bone marrow transplant, would be a long one.

As Roger underwent numerous chemotherapy treatments and received more than 200 units of blood, he began journaling his experience and using social media networks in hopes that someone would listen. His blog, www.ihavemds.com, has received attention from several potential donors and even other patients hoping to find their life-saving match.

While he finally won his battle and received his bone marrow transplant in March of 2009, he continues spreading the word to be able to save others battles in the future.

Stuart Little – Searching for a Match
“Ask Me How You Can Save My Life”

With these simple but powerful words, 29-year-old Stuart Little, who has acute lymphoblastic leukemia and is searching for a donor, has been an instrumental advocate for the Be The Match Registry.

Stuart, a three-time war veteran and Navy Master-At-Arms, has been searching for a donor since his diagnosis in September of 2008 and has been relentless in persuading potential donors to join the Be The Match registry.

On Thursday, August 20, 2009, Stuart learned that a 10 out of 10 match had been found.

Julia Marie Mosele– Tissue Donor
Julia Marie Mosele was a beautiful and loving young woman who was filled with passion and who had compassion for others. In the summer of her 17th year, she confided to a friend, “ I know what I want to do in life. I want to help people. I just don’t know how, yet.”

Sadly, Julia’s life was cut short when she died in a car accident in the Summer of 2002, just before her senior year in high school.

Even though she is no longer with us, Julia blessed all who knew her with a contagious enthusiasm. In honor of her compassion for others, her family fulfilled her dream of helping others by allowing her to become a eye, tissue and bone donor.

She saved or improved the lives of 26 people in nine states. That is the legacy of life that she has left us.

Andy Benevides – Heart Transplant Recipient
Andy Benevides is a heart transplant recipient and works on educating people on the importance of organ and tissue donations.

Michael Weathersby – Live Transplant Recipient
Michael was born with Biliary Atresia (BA), which is a congenital condition in which the pathway (common bile duct) for bile to drain from the liver to the intestine is undeveloped. It went undiagnosed and by three months of age and his liver was over 80% damaged, the only option in order to live was a liver transplant.

We were greatly blessed when Michael received a liver and had his transplant at five months of age. He is now 6 ½ years old and loves to play basketball and football, bowling, roller skating and enjoys dancing. This year he enters first grade, he is learning to ride his bicycle and tie his shoes.

After this life changing experience, we have become active volunteers with LifeGift, organ/tissue/blood donors, and personally strive to inform members of our community of the importance of organ donation. Our lives have been forever changed by the selflessness of our donor family. Although we don’t know their identity, we would greatly like to honor them as well.

Lambda Phi Epsilon – Donation Advocates
Philanthropy is an important aspect of Lambda Phi Epsilon. Giving back to the community is something we strive to do.

Lambda Phi Epsilon works with the Gulf Coast Marrow Donor Program and the Be The Match Registry to help register potential donors. This helps promote awareness for leukemia and other blood disorders, whose patients require bone marrow transplants. Their best hope for matched donors are those within their Asian community. The more people that register, the better the chances of finding a match for those in need.

Some of the projects the Lambda Phi Epsilon fraternity have worked on are Project Michelle, Save Jodie and Team Ahn. The fraternity is currently planning a 5K Run along with a drive in the spring that will benefit the Gulf Coast Marrow Donor Program.

Meryl Bond – Blood Recipient
In April of 2009, only weeks before her 24th birthday, Meryl Bond began feeling an unusual sense of fatigue and exhaustion. Like most, Meryl decided to schedule a routine doctor’s appointment to find out what was wrong. After several tests, doctors confirmed Meryl had a blood disease known as Myeloid Leukemia, which would require her to receive multiple blood transfusions.

“After receiving blood for the first time, I felt the most normal I had felt in months,” Meryl says. In fact, Meryl was able to finish her master’s program at the University of North Texas and take on normal every day tasks on her own, such as showering and brushing her teeth. “Unfortunately, it wasn't until my illness that I realized just how important the life-giving opportunity to donate blood was. I donated a few times before but tried to avoid blood drives just because I assured myself there were plenty of people who probably donated,” she says.

After receiving more than 19 units of blood and watching hundreds of other patients like her, she realized just how important blood donations were. To help replenish the supply she used during her procedures, she organized a blood drive with The Blood Center of Brazos Valley, an affiliate of Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center, at College Station Medical Center in her hometown. The drive proved to be a successful one with more than 116 units collected in two days.

“I honestly owe my life to the blood transfusions I've received since April and I intend on continuing to encourage others to donate for people just like me.”

Harley Martin – Blood Recipient
An avid skater and animal lover, Harley Martin was living the life of an average 14-year-old boy when his mother, Joy Martin, noticed severe bruising throughout his body. Joy took Harley to the emergency room where doctor’s diagnosed her son with T-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, the most common form of childhood leukemia. Not knowing it was a form of cancer, Joy was relieved until doctor’s explained the seriousness of the condition.

Harley was sent over to Texas Children’s Hospital where he spent the next two weeks receiving several units of blood and treatment. Joy and her family were devastated but maintained that it was their faith that would get them through this difficult time. “God is it at every turn and He has been at Harley’s side the entire time,” she says.

To return the life-saving gift other donors so generously gave Harley, the Martin family along with their church, Harvest Church in Crockett, held a replenishment blood drive. The drive helped save more than 60 lives.

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