[Former Military Chick]

I would beg, borrow or steal to help this Marine. OK, maybe not steal but if I could be there to do this I would, but, I do have the avenue of the Internet and Free Republic.

Please send this out to all you know, somebody may know somebody who just might be the match this fine Marine needs.

Thanks in advance.

[Former Military Chick]

ping

[japaneseghost]

Is there a world-wide bone marrow database yet?

[Former Military Chick]

**PING**

[japaneseghost]

Please tell us where we can get registered. I'm registered on the NYC Blood Bank database, but they are notorious for screw-ups. I would gladly get tested again.

Imagine if every Freeper registered....

[Former Military Chick]

**PING**

Please pass this along to your friends and family. Perhaps we will know someone who knows someone who just might be a match for this fine Marine.

Of course that is to assume the Marine's wont pull a match in the end. Never knew a Marine who ever gave up when the going got tough.

Prayers to all those involved.

[Calpernia]

Thousands of Marines have volunteered to be tested to determine if they could be a potential bone marrow donor for a Marine who developed a life-threatening liver ailment after returning from Iraq.

Lance Cpl. Chris LeBleu was listed in fair condition Sunday at Loma Linda University Medical Center, where he has been hospitalized since January, a hospital spokeswoman said.

[Former Military Chick]

Comrades Tested to Help Ailing Marine

Lance Cpl. Chris LeBleu

LOMA LINDA — Thousands of Marines have volunteered to have their blood tested to determine if they could be a potential bone marrow donor for one of their comrades who developed a life-threatening liver ailment after returning from Iraq.

Lance Cpl. Chris LeBleu of Lake Charles, La., was listed Sunday in fair condition at Loma Linda University Medical Center, where he has been hospitalized since January, a hospital spokeswoman said.

LeBleu received an emergency liver transplant but now his body is not producing enough red blood cells and doctors say he may need a bone marrow transplant.

"This is just a bump in the road. It's a big bump, but it's something that we're going to overcome together," said his wife, Melany LeBleu. "He's a fighter and he's fighting even harder today."

When news spread of LeBleu's need, about 200 people donated blood or took tests to determine whether they would be suitable marrow donors.

In addition, 2,000 Marines volunteered to be tested at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, where LeBleu is stationed.

The Marine Corps expects another 5,000 Marines will be tested in the search for a suitable donor, said LeBleu's wife, Melany.

Doctors expect to find no more than three or four potential matches among the group, his wife said.

The transplanted liver, which came from a 63-year-old woman from Littleton, Colo. who died in a New Mexico car crash, is functioning well, hospital spokeswoman Julie Smith said.

LeBleu, of Lake Charles, La., returned from seven months of duty in Iraq in September and married his wife, Melany, a month later. She has said he began feeling ill in December, and it kept getting worse. By the end of January, his doctors said he was near death from total liver failure.

Last Updated: Mar 7, 2005

[PGalt]

BUMP!

[kellynla]

Marine Bump

Semper Fi,
Kelly

[TexKat]

Lance Cpl. Chris LeBleu ping.