Team Fairchild shows it's heart for young cancer fighter

by Senior Airman Mary O'Dell
92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs

2/11/2014 - FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash.  -- London Bowater, daughter of Tech. Sgt. Nick Bowater, Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape instructor, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in February 2011. Just over three months away from completing treatment, her family received devastating news her cancer had returned.

Childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow and is the most common type of cancer in children, according to the National Cancer Institute.

This New Year's Eve, after a routine bone marrow draw, the doctors called London's parents to tell them they didn't have good news.

"We were completely side-swiped by the news," said Shelby Bowater, London's mother. "We didn't know what to expect next."

Shortly after being hospitalized and beginning treatment again, doctors informed 7-year-old London and her family she would need a bone marrow transplant.

"Since she was not quite finished with her treatment originally, she was assessed at an intermediate risk for the cancer to return," said Shelby. "Because of this, they told us a transplant was the most reliable way of treatment."

London's doctors began consulting with others in Seattle, where the transplant would have to take place. Since no match has yet been found in the national registry for bone marrow, they are currently looking into matching cord blood stem cells.

According to the American Cancer Society, cord blood is a small volume of blood with a high number of stem cells that tend to multiply quickly. However, due to the lower amount of stem cells, this source is limited to small children, although doctors are looking at different ways to use these transplants in larger adults.

Immediately after finding out London was in the hospital and needed a bone marrow transplant, Amanda Larson, London's kindergarten teacher, came up with the idea to host an event at Michael Anderson Elementary School to raise money for the Bowater family.

"I knew they would need additional support with traveling back and forth and staying in Seattle," said Larson. "I had to do something; I couldn't just sit and wait to see what would happen."

It instantly became a group effort with many people stepping up to help in the preparation, set up and gathering of donations, along with clean up.

"Kathy Shellebarger, London's current first grade teacher, and I really teamed up to the leads," said Larson. "Julie Pillard, MAE's Parent Teacher Organization president, took on t-shirt design and sales, Tricia Attrill gathered donations and volunteers. So many MAE staff members and Fairchild family members came together to pull of an amazing event, we cannot thank them enough."

Larson said the benefit was an outstanding success with each of the 158 items put up for auction receiving bids and 100 percent of the proceeds going directly to the Bowater family.

"The amount of support we received during the first years of London's treatment was amazing," Shelby said. "Knowing we will still have that kind of support during all of this means so much to us. We are very lucky to have our Fairchild family around during these tough times."

Larson, along with the many Bowater supporters, is working with the C.W. Bill Young Department of Defense Marrow Donor Program to bring a swabbing event to Fairchild in hopes to find a match for London.