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Jacquie Elisabeth Hirsch
"JAX" / "TINK"
Diagnosed:
September 28th, 2007
Age: 22 |
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On September 28th 2007, Jacquie Hirsch woke up to prepare for another day of student teaching in Rochester but felt sick, and found her vision was blurry. Thinking this may be attributed to her contact lenses; she visited the college health center and was then referred to an eye specialist. Taking careful note of her vision, he knew something was wrong, very wrong. After arriving at the hospital for blood work, her white blood cells had reached a level 20x higher than normal. This deviation in her blood stream was causing clotting behind her retina and the subsequent blurred vision. Her mother, driving to the hospital from Buffalo arrived in time for the news. Such a rapid cell increase only meant one thing, cancer. Jacquie was immediately rushed home and admitted directly to Roswell Park Cancer Institute. The family arrived with Jacquie at 2:30am and treatment began immediately. She started receiving chemo for Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia, (ALL) and was put on an immediate national search to find a match for her bone marrow transplant. Fundraising efforts and a benefit with free bone marrow testing were set up in order to help. A donor was located and Jacquie was admitted into Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan NYC on Monday February 11th. There, Jacquie continued the fight of her life and recieved a genetic altering bone marrow & stem cell transplant. 11 days short of her anticipated discharge date, we recieved some very devistating news, her cancer had returned. Now, at home in Buffalo, Jacquie was admitted back into Roswell Park where she faced her greatest challenge. A second time.
Jacquie battled through fevers, infections, pain and discomfort in order to get her body ready for a second transplant. Through it all, she narrowly missed a very important window of opportunity to be able to recieve her second transplant. However, along with some very instrumental nurses and doctors, Jacquie, her donor and her medical team made it to transplant.
This time, Jacquie began to experience a significant amount of graft vs. host disease. She had trouble breathing and her organs had trouble keeping up with all of the chemo, radiation and medication she was recieving. Jacquie was taken to the ICU at Roswell Park where she spent weeks on a ventilator, under sedation and fighting for her life. Her breathing improved and she was released from ICU. Unfortunatly, on September 6th 2008, with her family at her side, the effects of GVHD proved to be too much for her body to handle, and Jacquie peacefully drifted off to sleep with a smile on her face. Her smile, one that thousands of people knew and loved meant that she was at peace.
Jacquie is a 23 year old student at Geneseo State University. She finished her classes in May of 2007 and was just 2 months short of completing her student teaching and receiving a degree in early childhood education. Jacquie is a caring, bright and thoughtful person whose presence and smile can brighten even the darkest day. She is also a miracle worker when it comes to children. Her natural abilities and her patient disposition allow her to reach children on a level that no one else can. Whether in the gym or in the classroom, Jacquie’s true calling in life is to educate and better the lives of children. Even while undergoing chemotherapy at Roswell Park, she made everyone aware she would be much happier if put on the pediatric floor. Once her room was moved, she wasted no time meeting the children and making friends. Helping to make sno-kones and coloring pictures was a way for both her and the children find some level of comfort. Her laugh and her smiles continued every day as did her strong will to fight. Along with her IV and pump, she walked miles around the 6th floor with a level of determination rarely seen in someone so young.
Since her initial diagnosis, Jacquie managed to defy medicine and showed enough improvement to be able to leave Roswell Park. Her willpower and strength put her into remission 12 days earlier than expected. Since that time, Jacquie has encountered many obstacles in her treatment. After remission, she has had several fevers that landed her in and out of hospitals and she also traveled to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan NYC to recieve a bone marrow stem cell transplant. There, jacquie endured a very intense regiment of chemotherapy and radiation. She spent 3 months away from home and was 11 days short of her 100 days post-transplant (the normal time in which a patient can return home after a transplant) when we recieved some very heartbraking news. Some abnormal cells began to show up on routine a blood test. They were the leukemia cells, Jacquie's cancer had returned. She was immediatly flown back to buffalo and had roughly 2 days with family and friends before she was admitted back into Roswell Park Cancer Institute. Again, she began a series of chemotheraphy (this time much more intense and potentially dangerous to her body) in hopes of her attaining remission. Jacquie made tremendous progress with her treatments and despite all of her setbacks, she continued to stay strong and positive.
Jacquie grew up teaching children at a very early age in the family business, The Greater Buffalo Gymnastics & Fitness Center in Amherst, New York. She is a very athletic individual who has competed in the US Junior Olympic Gymnastics program, was a high school diver at Williamsville North and a collegiate competitor for the Blue Wave. She also participated in basketball, softball, tennis and skiing. In addition, Jacquie was an active Greek member of Sigma Delta Tau at Geneseo.
We urge and challenge you to take part on a national level to join Jacquie in her fight against cancer by increasing awareness about this deadly disease and bone marrow transplants. Everybody, regardless of age, race or religion has the ability to help stop cancers that turn peoples lives upside down. In some way or another, you can help save the lives of patients who desperatly need to break free from these deadly diseases and be able to continue on living their lives. Please consider donating blood, platelets or joining the national marrow donor program. If this is not something you are willing or able to do, then please contact us and we can help you get involved in another way.
With a simple initial swab of the cells in your mouth YOU CAN AND WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN ANOTHER HUMAN LIFE!
