Get Better, Give Back!
Where Is She Now?
These days, Cristina’s favorite activities include cheerleading and acting and singing in plays. “The cheerleading gives me a lot of exercise and it’s really fun,” she says, “but I love being up on stage singing in front of everybody. Before I had the BMT, I would have been shaking. Now I’m not even nervous!”
Cristina also finds great satisfaction in visiting other kids who are going through BMTs. “Every Christmas since I got well, we go to the hospital and give out little gifts like fun pencils, word searches, decks of cards, and little games,” Cristina says. “I like seeing kids smile. They just look so much happier afterwards. It makes me feel better, too!”
What You Can Do
Would you like to help out other kids the way the kids in this book helped you? Here are some suggestions for sharing your time and talents:
•Start a pen-pal program at your school. Each of your classmates can write to a different transplant patient.
• Organize a toy collection for the kids at the nearest transplant center.
• Write cards or make decorations to send to transplant patients at holiday time.
• Attend or volunteer to be a counselor at a summer camp where you’ll meet other kids who are former transplant patients.
• Hold a fundraiser in your town to benefit transplant patients.
• Visit http://www.meandmymarrow.com or write to the address below and tell us about your transplant experience. We’ll post as many comments as we can on this site so that other kids can learn from you what to expect. Let us hear from you!
Cristina at Antonia’s wedding
Cristina rock climbing

Christina and her cheerleading squad
Fujisawa Healthcare, Inc.  
Medical Information Dept.  
 Parkway North Center
Three Parkway North
Deerfield, IL 60015-2548