Millie Moo
Blood is medicine for the littlest patients.
Gabby knows this better than most. When her baby Millie (affectionately known as Millie Moo) was diagnosed with cancer last September at just six months old, blood transfusions became a lifeline during her treatment. Millie Moo would have turned one on March 17.
What followed was one of the hardest journeys a family can face, and one of the most beautiful responses to it. In only a handful of months, the Millie Moo Foundation has already supported 14 families and hosted a blood drive with more than 50 donors.
We had the honor of telling Millie Moo's story. Watch it here.
Ringing in Retirement
For almost 14 years, Sandy Madrigal answered the call. Literally.
Sandy joined us on the Davenport team on September 10, 2012, and spent 15,112 hours recruiting donors, making well over 180,000 phone calls, and scheduling 32,416 appointments. Many of those donors were first-time platelet donors who may never have picked up the phone for anyone else.
After scheduling thousands of appointments, one of the last appointments she booked was for herself, at this time next week.
We hear Sandy is also an avid reader, so we hope retirement brings her all the books and none of the alarm clocks. She has more than earned it.
HUDSON STRONG
The McKearneys knows firsthand what it means to depend on blood donors.
Their son Hudson battled leukemia right before he turned two, and blood transfusions were a constant part of keeping him alive for the three years of his treatment. Hudson is now nine years old and cancer-free.
To give back, the McKearneys have partnered with us for so many Hudson's Heroes blood drives over the years, including Wednesday's drive at Luminous Dance Studio in Eldridge, Iowa. Altogether they have collected over 2,000 units.
Hudson's mom Jessica also serves as co-chair of our Quad Cities Associate Board, turning her family's hardest chapter into a ongoing mission to save others.
We are grateful for all they do to put good into the world.
QC Storm
Donating blood has its perks, and last week our Quad Cities donors got a pretty great one.
We hosted a special Donor Appreciation Night with the QC Storm, treating donors to a night out as a "thank you" for showing up for patients in our community. After the game, donors got to step onto the ice for a meet and greet with a Storm player and the team mascot, Radar.
It is a small way of saying what we mean every single week. What you do matters, and we see you.