Another 'there are good people out there' story :-)
Fri, April 13, 2007
Ex-Calgarian saves U.S. child
UPDATED: 2007-04-13 01:48:08 MST
Pilot to meet donor recipient
By BILL KAUFMANN, SUN MEDIA
Holding the lives of hundreds of passengers in his hands is routine for Calgary-born pilot Doug Baxter.
But the Air Canada pilot says saving the life of a cancer-stricken California girl with his bone marrow is special and he's eager to wing thousands of kilometres to meet 10-year-old Cindy Campos and family.
"I'm getting quite excited -- it's nice to be able to help somebody you don't know and I get to meet her and her family," said Winnipeg resident Baxter, 55, an alumnus of St. Francis high school and Mount Royal College.
He'll get the chance April 27 at City of Hope hospital in Duarte, Calif.
Baxter signed onto a donor registry in the late 1990s after a friend was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer.
In 2004, Cindy Campos was diagnosed with myeloid leukemia.
Finding a donor to rescue her daughter seemed increasingly remote, said Gricelda Campos.
"It was a miracle to find a donor that's a 100 percent match," said Gricelda, of Cucamonga, Calif.
"We didn't have another option for somebody to give Cindy a second chance."
In September, 2005, marrow was extracted from Baxter's pelvis and transplanted into Cindy. Last year, Cindy relapsed but Baxter offered a second donation if needed.
Cindy is now cancer-free.
