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<< Previous   of   Next >> Kevin Nortz / The Herald  (click to enlarge) Brooke Lundquist (right) was inspired to become a bone marrow donor nearly nine years ago, when her neighbor Lexi Frost (left) was fighting leukemia. Although Lundquist wasn't a match, she was recently called to be a donor for another patient. Courtesy of Brooke Lundquist  (click to enlarge) Brooke and Lexi pose together on May 24, 1998, the day of Brooke's junior prom. Lexi, then 4 and undergoing chemotherapy, got dressed up along with Brooke. $PHOTOCREDIT_ON$$PHOTOCREDIT_OFF$   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Wednesday, December 19, 2007 Because of Lexi: Neighbor's illness inspires a gift of life By Sharon Salyer Herald Writer SNOHOMISH -- Brooke Lundquist filled out the required paperwork. And then she waited. Nearly nine years ago, Lundquist, then 18, signed up with the international bone marrow registry. In the time since, she completed her first marathon, graduated from college, married and earned a master's degree. All the while, she kept a quiet promise in her heart. She made the promise for Lexi Frost, her next-door neighbor, whose successful battle with leukemia inspired her to be a donor. After the passing of so much time, Lundquist was surprised, maybe even a little shocked, with a phone call she received two months ago. This week she will help save a life. The Puget Sound Blood Center in Seattle on Oct. 30 told Lundquist that she was a potential bone marrow donor for a leukemia patient. They needed 10 blood samples to see if she was a match. "They tested me on six different areas of the blood," Lundquist said. "I was a perfect six-for-six match." Starting at 6:30 a.m. Thursday, doctors at the University of Washington Medical Center will collect her bone marrow, making two incisions on each of her hips. She knows only a few details about the transplant recipient, a 60-year-old woman with an acute form of leukemia, a cancer of the blood. Without the bone marrow transplant, the woman has virtually no chance of survival. With the transplant, her chances of living increase to about 40 percent. "I'm nervous," Lundquist said, admitting to a longtime fear of needles. "But it's a small price to pay. … What I'm going through is nothing compared to what that woman is going through." Among the first people she told of her upcoming procedure were Lexi Frost and her family. They could really understand what Lundquist's donation could mean. Lundquist's parents in Lake Stevens live next door to the Frosts. When she was growing up, Lundquist saw the toll a two-time battle with leukemia had taken on Lexi. The disease first struck when the girl was 22 months old. There were two years of treatment and a short time of believing she had been cured. Then, in December 1997, the cancer came back, and Lexi was given a 50-50 chance of survival. "I didn't know if she would live to see another Christmas," Lexi's mother, Michelle Frost said. The neighborhood rallied to help, calling themselves Team Lexi. They took turns on 24-hour shifts to help with child care, trips to the pharmacy, even organizing meal delivery. To help pay for Lexi's medical expenses, they sold candy bars at ferry docks and Team Lexi T-shirts. Through this and other efforts, $150,000 was raised. They also took one other step, organizing bone marrow registration drives, including the one where Lundquist gave a blood sample as soon as she turned 18. Ultimately, the match that saved Lexi's life came from her brother Brennan. But the family never forgot how many people offered to help their girl, who was 7 at the time. Lexi is now an eighth-grader at Cavelero Mid High School. "What was so difficult is Lexi was so sick and it looked like what might be the end of her life," her mom said. "It is miraculous. Nine years later, we're sitting here with a healthy 14-year-old girl." Lundquist, now 26, and Lexi have remained close, with a big sister, little sister relationship. Lexi has been part of the biggest moments in her life, said Lundquist, who now lives in Snohomish and works at Northwest University in Kirkland. As she prepared for her junior prom in 1998, Lexi got dressed up, too. Both wore pink dresses and had a photo taken together. When she ran her first marathon in 2001 -- in Maui as part of a Leukemia and Lymphoma Society team -- she ran in Lexi's honor. Lexi joined her near the end of the race, and the two crossed the finish line together. In June 2004, when Lundquist got married, she asked Lexi to be her flower girl. Of the more than 200 people inspired by Lexi's battle to sign on to the international bone marrow registry, a few have been called over the years as potential matches. But Lundquist is the first match to come from the effort. "Every time I talk about it, I get choked up," Lundquist's father, Jim Steinruck, said. He and his daughter were both in the hospital room when Lexi got her bone marrow transplant. Before receiving a transplant, the patient's immune system "is taken down to about nothing," Steinruck said. "Lexi was lying there, 7 years old, that little body, looking helpless getting the transplant." When his daughter called to tell him she had been selected to be a bone marrow donor, she was so excited, "it's like she just won the lottery," he said. "You wonder if you'll ever be called," he said. "In Brooke's words, it was a prayer come true." Lundquist knows she'll be tired and sore in the days following the procedure. She will need to rest at home for about a week. This time, it's Lexi's turn to be at her side. "It's amazing to me it happened," Lexi said. "It's a miracle." They've already talked about some of the movies they'll watch. And the opportunity to help came at perfect time of the year: Christmas. "If anything, it makes it so much more special," Lundquist said. "It is a reminder of what the season is about … giving and being able to bless other people." Reporter Sharon Salyer at 425-339-3486 or salyer@heraldnet.com.

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