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Brothers are a perfect match
By GREG AUMAN © St. Petersburg Times, published November 13, 2000 SPRING HILL -- Though only 2 years old, Kevin O'Connell clearly has the same love of basketball as his brother, Mike. There's a backboard at the end of the O'Connells' driveway, far too high for Kevin. But inside the house, he is right at home. The living room has a mini-basketball stand, just the right height for him to hang on the rim, and the shy toddler greets guests with a black-and-white ball and an unspoken invitation to join him in a game. Kevin seems to have picked up his basketball instincts from Mike, a senior at Central High School who will be a guard and co-captain for the Bears this season. This month, Mike has a chance to give his little brother something infinitely more precious. Kevin was diagnosed in June with a rare immune deficiency that limits his body's defenses against infection. Two months ago, the O'Connells received encouraging news: Mike, 17, is a perfect match for his brother and will serve as a donor for a bone marrow transplant in two weeks at All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg. The operation is scheduled for Nov. 29, the day after Central's first game of the season. Mike admits his initial thoughts about a potential transplant were selfish -- how much of the basketball season would he miss? But those thoughts quickly gave way to an understanding of the opportunity he has. "I thought that this is my senior year, and I didn't want to miss anything. But basketball's got to be second," he said. "You've got to do what you've got to do." Family prioritiesBasketball is a big part of Mike O'Connell's life -- his free throws in an overtime upset of Pasco last year helped Central earn a spot in the regional playoffs. Bears coach John Sedlack said the team will miss O'Connell as much as he will miss the game, but he has always told players to make their families their top priority. "Your family comes first," Sedlack said. "It's a tremendous test for him that he's been called upon to do this wonderful act for someone in his family. Things happen in strange ways. We support him to the nth degree, and we'll miss him for any time he misses, but our thoughts and prayers are certainly with Kevin and Mike." Last season, O'Connell wasn't able to play with the Bears over the holiday break because his mother, Joan, was in the hospital recovering from surgery after she was badly injured in a car accident. She has since recovered and survived a difficult year that began with the family still unsure what was wrong with their youngest child. "It was like a roller coaster. It was a nightmare," she said. "At first, they thought he had leukemia. Then we got this diagnosis, and we weren't sure if it was better or worse." Kevin suffers from Hyper IgM Syndrome, so named because IgM is the only one of four immunoglobulins, which most people have, that Kevin's body produces to fight off infections. "He has a lot of (IgM), but it's not enough to keep him going forever," his mother said. Mrs. O'Connell said she was against the idea of a transplant at first, thinking it was too drastic a measure. Kevin had responded well to monthly intravenous infusions to boost his immune system and had avoided infections because the family was diligent in making sure he lived in a sterile environment. That's still the case. He was unable to play with the triplets who live across the street for three weeks after they had chicken pox vaccinations. He can't eat delivered pizza because the family never knows if the people who prepared it washed their hands. It's a constant battle against the threat of infection, and after extensive research, Mrs. O'Connell realized that a transplant offered Kevin his best chance of a normal life. Mike and his 20-year-old brother, John, took blood tests in July to check their compatibility. A transplant's success hinges on matching human leukocyte antigen (HLA) types. Without a match on all six groups of antigens, the operation doesn't have a chance. Had the O'Connells not found a match in Mike, Joan and her husband, John, had considered trying for another child, knowing it would mean another chance for a potential donor. "They said it was going to be a long shot," she said. "You basically need a twin to get the match you need. I figured we had the Lord on our side, so we're going for it." A month later, his parents were at the hospital with Kevin for an infusion when their doctor gave them the news they had been hoping for. "The doctor came in and said, "Mike's a match. He's a perfect match.' I cried, but it was tears of joy," Mrs. O'Connell said. Once the transplant was a real option, she still had difficulty considering it, knowing what it would put another one of her children through. " "Where do you get off asking your kids to do this?' I thought. But then, you have to get over that," she said. "If it was their life, I would use Kevin for them. We're a family, and families do this for each other." The maturity and courage Mike has shown in facing this challenge without so much as flinching has given her more hope that the transplant will be successful. "He was scared for like five minutes, and then I feel like he really bonded with Kevin," she said. "He just can't wait to do this. It's really wonderful. He's not making me feel bad, like, "Mom, why are you making me do this?' Instead, he says, "Hey, Kev, me and you are going to be the same, bud.' They're going to have the same DNA." Painful processThe transplant is only the beginning of the process. Kevin's old bone marrow must be destroyed by chemotherapy and radiation treatments, to help avoid the old cells rejecting the donor marrow. To help his body accept the new marrow, fragments of bone from Mike's hip will be deposited in Kevin's abdominal cavity. Kevin will spend about 12 days in the hospital before being transferred to the nearby Ronald McDonald House, where his progress will be monitored for weeks by doctors who probably will not know if the transplant is a success until January. Other types of treatment are available if this one does not work. Before Mike returns to basketball, he will know that he may well have saved his brother's life. Kevin once again may be able to do things most people take for granted, like watching his brother play basketball. A public environment such as a high school gymnasium is too much of a risk for germs right now, so Kevin's basketball experiences are limited to his living room. And as thrilled as Kevin would be to see his brother on the court, Mike would share the same sentiment about seeing his brother in the stands again. "Whenever we went to games, he just wanted to play," Mike said. "Whenever he'd see me, he'd go crazy, start yelling and screaming and pointing. My mom has to take him outside sometimes." O'Connell understands that the donation process will not be a painless one. About 400 ccs of marrow will be extracted from a bone in his hip, and while he'll be anesthetized during the extraction, his doctors have warned him about what he will feel afterward. "He said, "I'm not going to lie to you. It's going to feel like you've been hit by a garbage truck that next day,' " O'Connell said. "I usually heal quick, though." Bears coach Sedlack said he has seen a change in O'Connell in the past year, a new maturity that has coincided with his coming to terms with a situation that would be difficult for anyone, let alone a teenager. "He's scared, which is normal," Sedlack said after practice Friday. "With any surgery, they say it's only minor if it's done to someone else. But he's such a big, strong kid now, and his attitude is tremendous." O'Connell's mother said Mike's willingness to help his brother, to sacrifice a part of his life to help save Kevin's, has made a difficult process easier for the entire family. "I'm so proud, because he has such a good way about him," she said. "How can you yell at him for not making his bed when he does something like this?"
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