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Kevin Kararwa, a 24 year
old Business Systems student,
studied at University of Portsmouth for 4
years and
lives in Morden South
London.
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In March 2012 Kevin started having a cold and flu like symptoms that was not healing. It lingered for 3 weeks. At the time Kevin was a student at the University of Portsmouth studying a 4 year degree in Business Systems and also working part time at Carphone Warehouse in Portsmouth
Kevin's mother Veronica Kararwa was deeply concerned that every time they spoke on the phone she noticed that a cold and flu was still there. She questioned him about it and kept asking if he had seen a doctor. Kevin promised he would see a doctor and at the end of the second week he told her he had seen a doctor and been prescribed antibiotics. Veronica thought that was it, however, by the following week she still noticed his cold and flu when they spoke on the phone. Veronica asked him how come he still had the cold after taking antibiotics but he reassured his mother that it was getting better
As a mother and a nurse Veronica was very worried and so she advised and urged him to go and get a blood test. Kevin listened and went to see a doctor and requested a blood test
The 20th April was Veronica's birthday and they agreed Kevin would be coming to London for his mother's birthday. This happened to be the day he decided to go for the blood test. He had his blood test in the morning before travelling to London in the afternoon. On the train on his way to London Kevin received a call the Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth and was advised to immediately go back there as soon as possible. He was informed that they suspected leukaemia in his blood.
Kevin's mother, Veronica was at home cooking and excited for her birthday as well as looking forward to seeing Kevin when she received his call, he sounded very distressed and was unable to inform his mother of this alarming news. He handed the phone to his girlfriend who was with him, both were deeply distressed
Kevin and his partner immediately returned back to Queen Alexandra Hospital and Veronica, her friend and her other son Ian followed them to the hospital from London where the diagnosis was confirmed and a plan of treatment was put in place. All of their worlds changed from that day....
Kevin was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML), an aggressive life-threatening blood cancer
Since then Kevin underwent his first course of intensive chemotherapy but he did not go into remission, so he had to undergo a second but much more intensive course of chemotherapy. He was in Queen Alexandra Hospital for 4 weeks before being transferred to Kings College Hospital in South London to be near to family and friends. He went into remission following the 2nd bout of chemotherapy course of treatments and was discharged from Hospital at the beginning of August 2012 with a plan to go back for a cord blood transplant
Kevin recovered very well, was attending outpatient appointments twice a week and optimistic of the prospects of having a cord blood transplant. He was transfused with 2 cord blood donations in October 2012 and everything seemed to be going ok for the first 11 days, on the 12th day he collapsed and things went downhill from there on
Kevin experienced a very bad case of Graft V's Host Disease (GVHD) which left him critically ill and fighting for his life. The family prayed and the community prayed for him and after a long stay in hospital the doctors thought the hospital environment was not doing him any good so he was discharged at the end of April 2013 with a plan to attend out patients appointments 3 times a week. At home Kevin needed a lot of support. Kevin slowly recovered with the help of family and friends. All seemed to be going well
In the first week of September 2013 Kevin participated in a sailing exercise that had been organised by a coordinator for young people with leukaemia. When Kevin came back he had developed a bad case of cold/flu. It was treated when he went for his regular appointment at KCL. However, like before this cold/flu lingered and Veronica started to worry about it but Kevin would insist it was getting better. Kevin went for his once a month routine appointment and blood tests at KCL in October 2013, revealed the leukaemia had come back
This was devastating news for Kevin, his mother Veronica and his family and friends. He has since received 2 further courses of highly intensive chemotherapy and the doctors have said he needs a bone marrow transplant from an un-related ‘healthy' donor to beat the disease. There are currently no matching donors on the world bone marrow registries
The only option the doctors have at present is to conduct a half-match donor transplant from his brother Ian or his mother. This process will only have a 10% chance of success
The odds of finding a Black donor match are around 1 in 100,000 - that's like finding 1 person out of a packed-out Wembley stadium
Kevin's parents are from Kenya, East Africa; a genetically matched donor of similar ethnicity offers him the best chance of finding a donor
Kevin's family are deeply concerned the East African Community will not support a campaign by Kevin Kararwa to sign up new potential donors. Historically very few East Africans have signed up to become potential donors; they either don't know, are fearful or have been misinformed about how simple it is to donate bone marrow cells. However, Kevin believes that his community will support Kevin’s appeal to find lifesaving donors
DONOR DRIVE WILL TAKE PLACE: Sunday 24th November. Time: 4pm till 7.30pm. Venue: Presbyterian Church of East Africa, St Matthews Church, Dyson Road, London E14 4JX
You can also register in person (and do a cheek swab) weekdays between 10.30am – 4.30 pm at;
ACLT Office
7A Rathbone Square
Tanfield Road
Croydon
CR0 4HA
E: info@aclt.org
Please call ACLT office to book a 30 minute appointment. Tel no. 020 8240 4480.
4 Easy ways to register
If you live in the UK and want to hear our short talk, what it means to be a lifesaver, please come to an ACLT donor drive scheduled at various locations throughout the year – see the latest dates below or visitwww.aclt.org and go to DONOR DRIVES (click links)
Cheek Swab Test. If you are aged 17 – 55 we can register you directly to the DKMS ‘delete blood cancer’ UK register CLICK HERE with a quick & easy cheek swab sample
Blood Sample Test. If you are aged 18 – 49 we can register you with the National Blood Service (NBS) CLICK HERE you will be required to give a small blood sample at a blood donation appointment. Your bone marrow tissue type will be added to the ‘British Bone Marrow Registry’. You must be willing to donate 1 unit (475 mls) of blood for transfusion purposes. Please read the text below about being a blood donor
Saliva Sample Test. If you are aged 16-30 We can register you with Anthony Nolan register CLICK HERE with a quick & easy saliva sample
If you live in the UK and plan to stay for at least the next three years, we can register you as a potential Bone Marrow donor (even if you have the Sickle Cell Trait) onto one of the 3 above UK Registries. You must be willing to register as a possible bone marrow match for all patients around the world awaiting possible matches. Please note that you cannot just walk into your Doctor's practice or any hospital to give a sample to register as a potential donor.
Please CLICK HERE (http://www.aclt.org/) for further information about bone marrow donation. Please (click here ) if you would like to financially assist Kevin’s appeal.
If you would like more information about Kevin, Please contact Rev E. Kibathi on 07946 700 301, Macharia Gakuru 07947 893 396, Monica on 07984 111 891, Vero ((Peckham) 07931 312 410 .
Please CLICK HERE (http://www.aclt.org/) for further information about bone marrow donation. Please (click here ) if you would like to financially assist Kevin’s appeal.
Thank you for taking the time to read and support our appeal
From Kevin’s family and friends
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