Students wait to give blood to benefit Miami student and leukemia patient Tyler Sinclair Wednesday at the Shriver Center. (ALLISON BACKOVSKI | The Miami Student)
It's unusual for a college student to be overly excited to return home early in the semester, but for sophomore Tyler Sinclair returning to his home in Middletown, Ohio was a dream come true.
According to friend and fellow Miami University sophomore Meghan Wadsworth, Tyler, who was diagnosed with acute nonlymphocytic leukemia in July 2010, was healthy enough to leave Cincinnati Children's Hospital, where he had been since Dec. 4.
During his stay, he endured three rounds of chemotherapy treatments and received a bone marrow transplant, which, according to a blog Tyler created in order to keep friends, family and even just the curious passerby updated on his treatment, was 100 percent successful.
"The leukemia cells Tyler's body was producing in his marrow are not there," the blog said. "The bone marrow donors are growing instead."
When receiving a bone marrow transplant, patients are given healthy marrow from a donor who shares similar tissue through an intravenous line, according to website Medline Plus, a service of the U.S National Library of Medicine.
Tyler's return home will be a challenge, but it seems it's the one thing he wanted while in the hospital.
"What he misses most are the small things," his mother posted on a blog entry entitled "Homesick."
Tyler will now be able to have those small things, but the battle is not yet over, and this is where the help of Miami's population is needed. Blood banks are running low on Tyler's particular blood type, and in order for Tyler to continue on his positive recovery, he needs it, according to the event on Facebook for the Tyler Sinclair Blood Drive.
With the help of Red Alert, Beta Theta Pi Fraternity, Evans Scholars and the Associated Student Government, of which Tyler was an active member, a blood drive was created.
The drive was Jan. 26 at the Shriver Center.
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Wadsworth, who donated Wednesday, said there were 30 spots remaining to donate, which largely surpassed the quota.
According to organizer David Hall, the drive was ahead of schedule all day, the maximum amount of blood (160 units) was collected and a good percentage of the blood was the AB blood type Tyler needed.
"I can't believe how many people know about his condition and are following his story without ever meeting him," Wadsworth said. "He truly is amazing."
Sophomore Hannah Costello donated simply because she thinks it's a great cause.
"Tyler's story is a very inspirational one," Costello said. "This will be my second time donating, and I'm glad it's to help someone who has impacted Miami's student life."
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