|
Goodnight Buzulu -
Our friend
We are so sad to hear of the tragic death of our friend Buzulu Bunkete
on Thursday May 17th 2007.
David Gate of the Campaign writes: "I will always remember Buzulu
as a friend. He had to cope with serious illness in the most
difficult of circumstances. I used to visit him down at Bristol
Childrens Hospital and bring him football magazines. He was
passionate about his football and was a great player too. He was
always pleasant and very kind and respectful. He had an enthusiasm
for life, and although I only knew him briefly, I won't forget him."
Buzulu was lined up for a bone marrow transplant but the donor pulled
out at the last minute. His condition deteriorated and he died in
Bristol Childrens Hospital on May 17th.
Our deepest condolences go to Buzulu's family and friends.
Original appeal appears below - and remember, there are many others who
desperately need a donor too. Their life depends on it.
Please help if you can - join the bone marrow register.
Please
help Buzulu to realise his dream
15 year old Buzulu Bunkete is known as Percy by his friends. He
lives in Bristol but originates from Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic
of Congo, Central Africa. He has lived in the UK since he was 11
and is like many
other boys in their mid teens and likes music and sport.
He is a huge fan of Arsenal and dreams of being a footballer one day.
He would like to follow in the footsteps of his favourite
footballer Tierry Henry. He has played for Bristol Downs FC and
has attended trials with Bristol City last year.
When his mind is not on football Buzulu likes to listen to music.
He enjoys rap and hip-hop with his favourites being 50 Cent and Jay-Z.
He also enjoys reggae music including Bob Marley, Alpha Blondy and Lucky
Dube as well as African music from Congo.
Sadly Buzulu has an illness called Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis or HLH.
Since being diagnosed in September 2005 Buzulu has spent much of his
time in hospital receiving chemotherapy treatment. HLH
affects approximately one in every one million children.
Patients with HLH have an abnormally regulated immune system, and
specific white blood cells, called macrophages, grow abnormally and
accumulate in the body's organs, including the liver, spleen, bone
marrow, central nervous system and skin.
There are two main types of HLH: primary and secondary. Primary HLH,
also known as familial or relapsing HLH, is an inherited condition. Affected individuals may have an abnormality in a gene that is important
in regulation of immune response; some of these gene defects are now
known and can be detected. A similar illness, called secondary HLH, may
be triggered by certain types of infection, auto-immune diseases and/or
by cancer. The treatment of HLH includes chemotherapy, however
the only cure for this condition is a bone marrow
transplant.
Unfortunately a matching donor cannot be found for Buzulu - yet.
His immediate family have been tested, and medical authorities are going
to identify and try to test some of his close relatives in Congo.
But this is not an easy undertaking.
It is very difficult for Africans to find a matching donor as there are
currently not enough Africans registered as potential bone marrow
donors.
Perhaps YOU are the one that Buzulu is waiting for! Maybe YOU are
that special person that could make his dreams come true. If you
are not currently registered as a potential bone marrow donor then
please do something about it - today.
For Buzulu and other patients currently waiting for a bone marrow
transplant time is precious indeed.
PLEASE
DON'T LET TIME RUN OUT ON OUR CHILDREN
click here to find out how you
can join the bone marrow register
Buzulu asked if his e-mail address could be
published on this page. Hospital gets a bit
boring and lonely and he would love to receive some
encouragement.
E-mail here. |
