‘Be the Match’ event scheduled for Mason man needing stem cell transplant

Sam Shockey had been eagerly waiting to celebrate the holiday season with his family and to watch the excitement on his two young sons faces as they open presents on Christmas morning.

But in early December he was diagnosed with Acute NK Leukemia a rare, aggressive and recurrent form of cancer, and he spent Christmas in the hospital clinging to life.

Shockey, a Mason resident, is in dire need of a stem cell transplant; he could die without it, his wife Kimber Shockey said, adding that they are looking for a donor.

We knew this was pretty severe, very serious, she said. He made videos to leave for the kids, so they would remember his voice, and we got our affairs in order.

Still, the family has not given up hope; efforts are underway to find a donor. Kimber Shockey is helping organize a Be The Match event today in hopes of finding a donor for her husband and others who have a similar illness. The event is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Trenton Fishing Club, 225 Potter Ave., Trenton. Anyone who attends can have the inside of their cheeks swabbed and entered into a registry for people who need stem cell and bone marrow transplants.

It really does save a life, its painless and its something people can do, and it doesnt cost them anything, Kimber Shockey said of the registry.

More than 12,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with life-threatening diseases annually. The diseases include leukemia or lymphoma for which a marrow or umbilical cord blood transplant from an unrelated donor may be their best or only hope for recovery, according to the nonprofit National Marrow Donor Program.

About 70 percent of patients in need of a transplant do not have matching donors in their families. Instead, they depend on the Be The Match registry to find an unrelated donor, officials said.

On Friday, the Shockey family celebrated a small victory when Sam returned home after spending nearly three weeks at University Hospital in Cincinnati, enduring painful chemotherapy treatments. His sons, Nathaniel, 9, and Zachary, 7, are excited that their dads home. But the thought of losing their dad has been devastating for the boys, their mother said.

(Its) really upsetting to them because daddy always tucks them in and gives them a kiss and a hug every night, thats our ritual, Kimber Shockey said.

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‘Be the Match’ event scheduled for Mason man needing stem cell transplant