Posted by
Freeman on Monday, July 10, 2006 12:44:49 PM
As a grand first post here for TownHall, let's make it a begging request to help a Navy SeAL.
Justin, whose last name is not being disclosed at the request of the
U.S. Department of Defense, is a Navy SEAL and former Spotswood
resident who was recently diagnosed with leukemia. The Navy is turning
to Justin's hometown community to help him find a bone marrow stem cell
donor who could save his life.
Justin is fairly well-known in
the area. At Spotswood High School, he was president of his class,
salutatorian and an accomplished athlete, competing in track, football
and wrestling. Justin was captain of the wrestling team and became the
first wrestler from Spotswood to reach the second round of the New
Jersey State Wrestling Tournament. He then became a state district
champion at 160 pounds.
After high school, Justin attended the
U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis and became a Navy SEAL in 2002. He was
deployed twice and served a seven-month combat tour during Operation
Iraqi Freedom, before returning to spend the past two years assigned to
a special boat team in Mississippi.
Now 27 and recently
married, Justin was diagnosed June 2 with acute lymphocyte leukemia, a
fast-growing cancer that destroys the platelets and red and white blood
cells. Without appropriate treatment, patients often die within months
of the onset of the illness. Chemotherapy and radiation are usually the
first line of defense.
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"When he was told that there was only a
30 percent
chance of recovery, he replied,
'That's good. There was only a 10
percent
chance of me becoming a SEAL,'"
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Visit http://www.dodmarrow.org/ for more info on becoming a donor.