JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. –
Members of the Headquarters Air Force Office of Special Investigations are putting together a bone marrow and fund drive from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Community Airman's Center for Payton Gripp.
Payton, daughter of Special Agent Kristian Gripp, Air Force Office of Special Investigations Hulburt Base Investigation Branch chief, is a 14-year-old girl who suffers from paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, a disorder that affect red blood cells according to Genetics
Home Reference website, http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/paroxysmal-nocturnal-hemoglobinuria#definition.
Members that attend will be tested to see if they are a match for Payton through a simply mouth swab.
"This is important because it gives us a chance to let the Gripp family know, we care and we want to assist them however we are able to," said Staff Sgt. Rosalynn Brown, Joint Base Andrews AFOSI. "No one really knows what this family is going through and what kind of hardship this places on them financially, and emotionally. In addition, this will draw attention to this bone marrow issue. There are many others out in the world who are need of a matching marrow donor."
Throughout dealing with this illness, Payton has undergone a great number of tests and treatments - at one point having an adverse reaction. She still returns for treatments willingly and with a positive attitude.
"Payton is such a trooper and with everything that's happening in her life, she never complains or asks why - It's amazing," said Aimee Gripp, Payton's mother. "She presses on and goes about her days as normal as we allow. Kristian and I are always trying to keep her in a safe bubble but we have come to realize she needs her friends around and needs a little teenage normalcy."
For more information, or to contribute a monetary donation to the Gripp family, contact Master Sgt. Shireta Jones at 240-857-1237 or Staff Sgt. Rosalynn Brown at 240-857-0262.
There are a couple of different donation methods; each depends on the patient's need.
According to the National Marrow Donor Program website, http://www.marrow.org/, peripheral blood stem cells donation is a nonsurgical procedure that takes place at a blood center or outpatient hospital unit. For five days leading up to donation, donors are given injections of a drug called filgrastim to increase the number of blood-forming cells in their bloodstream. Their blood is then removed through a needle in one arm and passed through a machine that separates out the blood-forming cells. The remaining blood is returned through the other arm. The blood-forming cells of the donor are back to their normal levels within four to six weeks.
Also according to the National Marrow Donor Program website, bone marrow donation is a surgical outpatient procedure that takes place at a hospital. Donors receive anesthesia and feel no pain during the donation. Doctors use a needle to withdraw liquid marrow from the back of the pelvic bone. Donors may feel some soreness after this procedure, but it is usually minimal. The marrow replaces itself completely within 4 to 6 weeks.
To read more about Payton's journey through the eyes of her mother visit, http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/paytongripp/journal/.