Rest in Peace Nick Glasgow

This morning I woke up to learn that Nick Glasgow is no longer with us. From his blog:

Nick Glasgow passed away yesterday after a courageous and, in many ways, historic battle with leukemia. His mother Carole, whose loving support for her only son was constant and unwavering since his original diagnosis in March, was with Nick throughout his final days at home.

Here is a video of Nick and his mom Carole from earlier this year while he was in the hospital. To see Nick smiling and even laughing a little may give you a connection to him if you didn't know him in person. I know it did for me.



Following his transplant, about a month after Tami received hers, Nick's experience was similar to hers. He also had a 10/10 anonymous donor match from an altruistic and generous stranger, mucositis and GVHD. But his treatment resistant, acute myeloid leukemia came back just 2 weeks ago and there was nothing left to be done to help him. :(

Diagnosed on March 16th it was on June 16th that two 10/10 donors had been located and passed confirmatory testing as suitable donor matches for Nick. He received his transplant in early August.

For me the question that keeps popping up in my mind is: What if he had received his transplant sooner? What if the day he was diagnosed a match was already in the registry for him, and instead of 4+ months it took 4 weeks to confirm his match and transplant? Would earlier treatment help to save more lives? If all patients could receive their transplants before their cancer or condition has a chance to deteriorate their overall health, could more be saved? If Leukemia patients could avoid the rounds and rounds of chemo to attain remission to buy them time while searching for a match I believe their chances of surviving would increase. That's just my opinion but I'm pretty certain if I asked a doctor they would confirm my suspicion.

So we will continue fighting the fight for Nick and others who, despite their suffering and courage, didn't survive. We'll continue raising awareness of the need for people of mixed ethnicities to join the registry (along with everyone else) in his name. I am already certain that of the thousands of people who registered to help Nick, some of them will go on to help save others

Helping to get more people to join the registry is something we can all do. Do it for Nick. Share his story. Ask your family, friends, co-workers and people you meet to join the registry in Nick's name. We can all help to save others even if we aren't ourselves, a patient's match and donor.

Join at www.BeTheMatch.org

For minorities and those of mixed ethnicities please join at www.AADP.org

Edited to add: I just received a message to the members of Nick's Facebook Group. One bit of it I wanted to share with all of you:

One thing the Leukemia did not rob was Nick’s determination, joyful spirit, and strength. Though he was uncomfortable and in plenty of pain, Nick was still joking around with friends and family and still determined to walk to the bathroom and sit at the dinner table every evening. He also chose to lessen his pain medications, because he preferred to have a clear head than to be pain free. Nick truly was a fighter!