Classifieds 986-6222 Office, Editorial 985-2131

November 10, 1991 56 pages

THE ORIGIN of Remembrance Day dates back to the First World War when Germany Sur

rendered at 11 a.m. on the 11th day of November in 1918. Tomorrow, veterans from World War | and Hl, the Korean War, and other wars will be remembered. In West Vancouver on Nov. 1i, the Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 6&0 is holding a service at 11 a.m. in Memorial Park on Mazine Drive between 19th and 20th streets. In North Vancouver, the Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 118 will hold a service at 11 a.m., also on Nov. 11, at the cenotaph in Vic- toria Park, east of Lonsdale.

: Nua x.

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— Deep Cove family hoping donor

found for 5-year-old

NEWS photo Stuart Davis

FIVE-YEAR-OLD Melissa Badger and her sister, seven-year-vld

Rachel,

both suffer from the

same genetic disorder —

metachromatic leukodystrophy. While a bone marrow donor has been found for Melissa, Rachel is now confined to a wheelchair.

A DEEP Cove family is hoping that they'll be second-time lucky with the news that a bone marrow donor has been found that matches their five-year-old daughter.

The hopes of parents Steve and Jeanette Badger were dashed in September when they learned that a potential donor from England for their daughter Melissa had to withdraw from the bone marrow registry program for health reasons.

But a new donor, also from the United Kingdom, has been found and, aceerding to Steve Badger, the original English donor has also been cleared to go ahead with the bone marrow transplant if necessary.

Badger said the family is hoping

By Elizabeth Collings News Reporter

and brain due to the lack of ara sulphatase-A enzyme in the body.

Further testing revealed that Mel*<sa also has the disease. Their youngest daughter, Carrie, 3, is healthy.

Without a bone marrow transplant, the disease is fatal.

Badger said he is only just start- ing to see the symptoms of the disease in Melissa.

Community supports family: page 5

the new donor will be a more precise match to Melissa than the original donor who ‘twas not a great match.”*

He said doctors ‘told us to ex- pect two years of medical hell with Melissa’ if the transplant with the original donor goes ahead because the match is less than ideal. With a good match, the risks and side effects would be much less severe.

if the final tests are successful, the Badgers are aiming for mid- November for Melissa’s bone- marrow transplant.

The Badger family learned this spring that their seven-year-old daughter, Rachel, has metachromatic leukodystrophy — a@ rare genetic disorder that leads to the deterioration of the nerves

But the sooner the bone marrow transplant can be done, the greater are the chances that Melissa will be able to lead a fair- ly normal life.

“We've seen with Rechel now how quickly it (the disease) can move,"’ said Badger, adding that Rachel can now only speak three-word sentences and is wheelchair bound,

Badger describes the decision not to pursue a donor for Rachel as ‘‘very agonizing.’”’

Their decision was based on discussions with parents of children stricken with the same disease who had gone through with the transplant, grappled with further complications as a result of the transplant, and then watch- ed their child die.