The family of Khaliah-Shay Kaulana Rapozo leaves for Seattle Wednesday, March 6, on a journey they hope will end with the 11-year-old free of the leukemia that has attacked her body most of her young life. The family includes mother
The family of Khaliah-Shay Kaulana Rapozo leaves for Seattle Wednesday, March 6, on a journey they hope will end with the 11-year-old free of the leukemia that has attacked her body most of her young life.
The family includes mother Valerie Gallardo and father Curtis Rapozo of Wailua Houselots. Khaliah’s first medical appointment at the world-famous Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center is Thursday, March 7.
What is hoped to be a lifesaving procedure using someone else’s saved umbilical cord blood to help Khaliah’s body develop healthy blood cells is tentatively set for Tuesday, April 2.
Before her treatment, Khaliah will receive massive dosages of radiation therapy for five days in late March, followed by three days of chemotherapy treatments, essentially to kill diseased bone marrow and as many of the bad blood cells as possible before the treatment.
While not a bone-marrow transplant, the transplantation procedure using cord blood is similar.
Hematopoiesis is the formation and development of blood cells, and there are three primary sources for cells used in transplants: bone marrow, umbilical cord blood and mobilized peripheral blood stem stems, according to the Hutchinson Web site, www.hfcrc.org.
The transplantation process works by destroying a person’s diseased or damaged marrow and replacing it with healthy marrow, stem or cord blood cells with the hope of developing a healthy and functioning cell system.
Khaliah, a fifth-grader at King Kaumuali’i Elementary School in Hanama’ulu, will be given the healthy blood in a manner similar to a blood transfusion.
There are no guarantees that the procedure will mean the end of the girl’s leukemia, but the longer she stays healthy and without relapse, the better the chances are that the disease will not return, information on the Web site indicates.
After the procedure, the greatest risk is infection of any kind, as the chemotherapy and radiation before the procedure will reduce Khaliah’s immune system to near zero.
The family has secured lodging close to the treatment center, and that meant having to politely turn down an offer of free lodging at an Embassy Suites hotel 20 miles north of Seattle, in Lynwood, Wash.
Kaua’i native Alicia (Silva) Dresser, formerly of Kapa’a (her father is from Kalaheo), is director of revenue management at the Embassy there, read of Khaliah’s situation, and called The Garden Island to offer free lodging.
Because the cancer center requires families to be within short walking or driving distance from the facility, in order to respond quickly to calls from the center, the family had to graciously turn down the Embassy offer.
While most of the expenses for the trip are covered by medical insurance, there are still some uncovered charges. The family has been selling candy and other items to raise funds for the trip.
A fund has been established through the Bank of Hawai’i, and checks made payable to Friends of Khaliah-Shay Kaulana Rapozo can be deposited at any branch.
Checks can also be mailed to Friends of Khaliah-Shay Kaulana Rapozo, P.O. Box 1852, Lihu’e, HI 96766.
Several thousand dollars have already been raised through donations and sales, Gallardo said.
Staff Writer Paul C. Curtis can be reached at mailto:pcurtis@pulitzer.net or 245-3681 (ext. 224).
