Transplant Hope for Hosanna
Donation protected
Hello, my name is Chris Ross
My wife (Naomi) and I are starting this go fund me to help her little sister Hosanna (who was adopted from China in 2009) get the financial help that is needed for her life changing bone marrow transplant.
Hosanna suffers from a genetic blood disorder called Beta Thalassemia Major which, for her, has meant getting a blood transfusion every two weeks to keep her alive (285 to date). The only cure is to have a bone marrow transplant from a perfectly matching donor. In a series of miraculous events a biological sibling has been found in China, who is a perfect match for our Hosanna.
In order to make this transplant possible, her biological sibling and parent will need to travel to Alberta. As you can imagine this is no small undertaking. The associated costs will be almost $80,000. This will cover most of the expenses such as visas, airfare, housing, insurance, travel and medical costs.
Please, if you will, pray for Hosanna, the Crowell’s and the biological family. We would also be grateful to have you share this go fund me on their behalf. We are so nervous, excited and hopeful that we’ll be able to go forward with this.
We have been so amazed at the kindness of strangers and the many people who have come together so far to help us see this transplant become a possibility.
Please read below if you would like to know Hosanna’s whole story. You can also follow her journey of hope on her Medical Blog on her Face Book page, Hosanna's Hope and you can read some past articles and see some news stories (Linked below)
China Daily article
National Post article
YouTube
Thank you so much for reading and sharing, and especially for your prayers.
With Gratitude,
Chris & Naomi Ross
This is the one and only GoFund me set up for Hosanna Crowell, all the funds will be directly deposited into a bank account that can only be accessed by her parents, Greg and Cathy Crowell.
The below message has been taken from Hosanna’s medical blog and was written by her parents:
To those who do not know us, we are Greg and Cathy Crowell. We are parents of five children, four adults and one adopted daughter age 14. We have 12 grandchildren, 9 boys and 3 girls. As a couple we have always had a great interest in Asia, a longing some would say to make a difference, little did we know that we would be the ones who would be changed. When our first four children had left home, we planned to move to China , it was late 2004. Just a little more than 2 years later is where this story begins:
In May 2007 we had just moved to a new location in China where we hoped to do some humanitarian work. With my arms full of groceries I was trudging up 4 flights of stairs to our apt when my cell phone rang. It was an urgent call from a friend who was involved with orphan care. She was at the local orphanage and said there was a little girl who was dying and she asked if we would be willing to bring her to our home. We did not know what to expect and we were shocked when we met her, Hosanna (the name we gave her) weighed less than 8 lbs and was 13 months old! She was frail and so very skinny. Our immediate thought was, “she just needs food”!
We were wrong and when a lady at the market commented that Hosanna looked very yellow we realized we probably had not noticed the change because it was gradual, she had been with us now for 10 days. We contacted a friend in another city in China who was a pediatrician, Dr Katherine, suggested I bring Hosanna to her. After Dr. Katherine had done an initial assessment she said, let's take her to hospital. I don't know that she will live through the night. Her breathing was laboured, her organs were enlarged and her heart was working hard. At the hospital they did blood work, her HGB was super low and Hosanna was given a transfusion. It was amazing to see how well she responded! This blood transfusion truly infused her with life !
It wasn't until a few weeks later through the help of a hematologist in Calgary (Dr. Poon) who connected us with a hematologist in China that we found out Hosanna has a genetic blood condition called Beta Thalassemia Major. She needs regular blood transfusions herwhole life in order to live. So began our journey in China of caring for this little one and learning how to navigate hospitals, medical procedures, blood banks and a very new and different life.
I often thought about Hosanna's biological family,she had only been at the orphanage a short time, we really felt that her family had tried everything to help her but in the end knew that her only hope would be if the orphanage could give her the medical attention she obviously needed.
In late 2009 we adopted Hosanna and moved “home” to Canada. Hosanna is now a lovely 14 year old. We are so grateful to the hundreds of people who have donated blood over these years, truly giving her life. She has now had 206 blood transfusions.
I had asked Dr. Poon if there was a cure for Beta-Thalassemia Major, he said yes, Hosanna's best hope for a cure would be a bone-marrow transplant from a matched sibling. Greg and I kept wondering how we could find her family. A burning determination began to grow in me... I kept thinking God can see who they are!! We know they are somewhere. The Chinese say, “it would be like finding a needle at the bottom of the ocean”. However, in 2017 with the help of two creative reporters Hosanna's story was shared on Chinese social media and amazingly her family bravely came forward.
Working between countries with a lot of help from 2 doctors, one in Canada and one in China, it was arranged for the family to have DNA testing , we rejoiced when it was confirmed that Hosanna was in fact their biological daughter. We found out that she also has two younger siblings, but maybe the greatest miracle was learning through HLA type and screening that one of the siblings is a perfect bone-marrow donor match for Hosanna !! We had indeed found a needle on the bottom of the ocean !!
Fast forward to 2021 we are now preparing for Hosanna to have a bone-marrow transplant (BMT). We had plans to do this sooner but COVID came and the world in many ways was put on hold. So after a year of delays we are applying again for travel visas for Hosanna's biological father and her sibling . We are arranging for them to fly here this summer. Hosanna will begin preparations for the transplant soon.
Thank you so very much for your interest and your prayers in this journey
Gratefully,
Greg & Cathy Crowell
My wife (Naomi) and I are starting this go fund me to help her little sister Hosanna (who was adopted from China in 2009) get the financial help that is needed for her life changing bone marrow transplant.
Hosanna suffers from a genetic blood disorder called Beta Thalassemia Major which, for her, has meant getting a blood transfusion every two weeks to keep her alive (285 to date). The only cure is to have a bone marrow transplant from a perfectly matching donor. In a series of miraculous events a biological sibling has been found in China, who is a perfect match for our Hosanna.
In order to make this transplant possible, her biological sibling and parent will need to travel to Alberta. As you can imagine this is no small undertaking. The associated costs will be almost $80,000. This will cover most of the expenses such as visas, airfare, housing, insurance, travel and medical costs.
Please, if you will, pray for Hosanna, the Crowell’s and the biological family. We would also be grateful to have you share this go fund me on their behalf. We are so nervous, excited and hopeful that we’ll be able to go forward with this.
We have been so amazed at the kindness of strangers and the many people who have come together so far to help us see this transplant become a possibility.
Please read below if you would like to know Hosanna’s whole story. You can also follow her journey of hope on her Medical Blog on her Face Book page, Hosanna's Hope and you can read some past articles and see some news stories (Linked below)
China Daily article
National Post article
YouTube
Thank you so much for reading and sharing, and especially for your prayers.
With Gratitude,
Chris & Naomi Ross
This is the one and only GoFund me set up for Hosanna Crowell, all the funds will be directly deposited into a bank account that can only be accessed by her parents, Greg and Cathy Crowell.
The below message has been taken from Hosanna’s medical blog and was written by her parents:
To those who do not know us, we are Greg and Cathy Crowell. We are parents of five children, four adults and one adopted daughter age 14. We have 12 grandchildren, 9 boys and 3 girls. As a couple we have always had a great interest in Asia, a longing some would say to make a difference, little did we know that we would be the ones who would be changed. When our first four children had left home, we planned to move to China , it was late 2004. Just a little more than 2 years later is where this story begins:
In May 2007 we had just moved to a new location in China where we hoped to do some humanitarian work. With my arms full of groceries I was trudging up 4 flights of stairs to our apt when my cell phone rang. It was an urgent call from a friend who was involved with orphan care. She was at the local orphanage and said there was a little girl who was dying and she asked if we would be willing to bring her to our home. We did not know what to expect and we were shocked when we met her, Hosanna (the name we gave her) weighed less than 8 lbs and was 13 months old! She was frail and so very skinny. Our immediate thought was, “she just needs food”!
We were wrong and when a lady at the market commented that Hosanna looked very yellow we realized we probably had not noticed the change because it was gradual, she had been with us now for 10 days. We contacted a friend in another city in China who was a pediatrician, Dr Katherine, suggested I bring Hosanna to her. After Dr. Katherine had done an initial assessment she said, let's take her to hospital. I don't know that she will live through the night. Her breathing was laboured, her organs were enlarged and her heart was working hard. At the hospital they did blood work, her HGB was super low and Hosanna was given a transfusion. It was amazing to see how well she responded! This blood transfusion truly infused her with life !
It wasn't until a few weeks later through the help of a hematologist in Calgary (Dr. Poon) who connected us with a hematologist in China that we found out Hosanna has a genetic blood condition called Beta Thalassemia Major. She needs regular blood transfusions herwhole life in order to live. So began our journey in China of caring for this little one and learning how to navigate hospitals, medical procedures, blood banks and a very new and different life.
I often thought about Hosanna's biological family,she had only been at the orphanage a short time, we really felt that her family had tried everything to help her but in the end knew that her only hope would be if the orphanage could give her the medical attention she obviously needed.
In late 2009 we adopted Hosanna and moved “home” to Canada. Hosanna is now a lovely 14 year old. We are so grateful to the hundreds of people who have donated blood over these years, truly giving her life. She has now had 206 blood transfusions.
I had asked Dr. Poon if there was a cure for Beta-Thalassemia Major, he said yes, Hosanna's best hope for a cure would be a bone-marrow transplant from a matched sibling. Greg and I kept wondering how we could find her family. A burning determination began to grow in me... I kept thinking God can see who they are!! We know they are somewhere. The Chinese say, “it would be like finding a needle at the bottom of the ocean”. However, in 2017 with the help of two creative reporters Hosanna's story was shared on Chinese social media and amazingly her family bravely came forward.
Working between countries with a lot of help from 2 doctors, one in Canada and one in China, it was arranged for the family to have DNA testing , we rejoiced when it was confirmed that Hosanna was in fact their biological daughter. We found out that she also has two younger siblings, but maybe the greatest miracle was learning through HLA type and screening that one of the siblings is a perfect bone-marrow donor match for Hosanna !! We had indeed found a needle on the bottom of the ocean !!
Fast forward to 2021 we are now preparing for Hosanna to have a bone-marrow transplant (BMT). We had plans to do this sooner but COVID came and the world in many ways was put on hold. So after a year of delays we are applying again for travel visas for Hosanna's biological father and her sibling . We are arranging for them to fly here this summer. Hosanna will begin preparations for the transplant soon.
Thank you so very much for your interest and your prayers in this journey
Gratefully,
Greg & Cathy Crowell
Organizer and beneficiary
Naomi Ruth Ross
Organizer
Stony Plain, AB
Greg Or Cathy Crowell
Beneficiary
