With all Negativeness surrounding Us, I just can't stand when one of us can't get help they deserved

In The Race Of His Life

Yale law grad tries to beat leukemia, make Olympic team

By CHRISTIAN NOLAN

All of Seun Adebiyi’s dreams were coming together this year. He was going to graduate from Yale Law School in May. He was going to move to Salt Lake City to work for Goldman Sachs and train for the Winter Olympic Games.

Feeling strong and healthy, he worried little when he first noticed a swollen lymph node in his groin. Doctors told Adebiyi he was probably just exercising too vigorously. But when the swelling persisted, a biopsy was performed.
Then came the devastating news. Just after his law school graduation, he was diagnosed with T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma, an aggressive cancer. An additional bone marrow biopsy revealed something worse — stem cell leukemia.

“Double-barrel cancer,” Adebiyi called it.

But this isn’t a person who is easily discouraged. Even facing the prospect of a bone marrow transplant, he still plans to sit for the New York bar exam in February. He still plans to work as a financial analyst at Goldman Sachs and do pro bono legal work on the side. He still plans to be the first native Nigerian to qualify for the Winter Olympics.

This is a person used to overcoming obstacles. Once afraid of heights, he decided to get a pilot’s license. At Yale, he would offer to take classmates up in a plane.

“I think we’re all impressed by his drive, for his ability to do so many things well,” said Tafari Lumumba, a member of Yale’s Black Law Student Association. In early November, the group organized a bone marrow donor drive, which added 87 names to the National Bone Marrow Registry.

“As soon as we heard about [Adebiyi’s illness], we were on board,” said Lumumba. “He was always so active in the Yale Law School community, it felt right. We felt the calling to match his energy.”

80 Mph

Adebiyi has dual citizenship, having been born in Nigeria and moving to Alabama at age 6. Growing up, he was a competitive swimmer. In 2004, while attending the University of Pittsburgh, he attempted to make the Nigerian Olympic team, but his time in the 50-meter freestyle was one-tenth of a second short of international qualifying standards.

Undeterred, Adebiyi began thinking there had to be another way to get into the Olympics. After brainstorming with friends, it occurred to him: Nigeria has never participated in the Winter Olympics. But what sport? “Cross-country skiing? Way too hard. Downhill skiing? I would kill myself.”

Then he stumbled upon skeleton, a sport in which participants sprint for 30 meters with a sled, dive on it head first and then speed down an icy bobsled track at 80 mph. This is safer than downhill skiing? “I haven’t heard of anyone who’s killed themselves,” Adebiyi laughed. “It was addicting from the very first time. I can’t believe it’s a sport, it’s so much fun. There are no brakes on the sled. The only way you steer is by rotating your body. It’s kind of like, hang on for dear life.”

Because of his cancer battle, Adebiyi has set his sights on the 2014 Games in Russia. But he already has a coach waiting in Salt Lake City. “If I’m lucky, I may even get in a couple races before I go in for the transplant,” said Adebiyi.

Match Game

This summer, Adebiyi spent nearly two months in New York City’s Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital receiving chemotherapy. Doctors and nurses got used to seeing a still-in-training Adebiyi doing push-ups, sit-ups and lunges in hospital hallways while attached to an IV bag.

Adebiyi is cancer-free, for now. But not leukemia-free. He still needs a bone marrow transplant. The procedure has a better chance of being successful if it takes place while the cancer is in remission.

So now Adebiyi’s fight is against time. A compatible donor must be found. There are 7 million people on the National Blood Marrow Registry. Caucasions who need a donor can find one 80 to 85 percent of the time. But because there are relatively few minorities on the registry, Adebiyi has only a 3 or 4 percent chance of finding a match.

He’s looking to improve those odds. Adebiyi has planned a pre-Christmas bone marrow drive in New York City. It’s not hard to get on the registry. Potential donors need only to submit to having the inside of their cheek swabbed for a DNA sample.

Adebiyi also plans to promote awareness in law schools and churches. And he says he’ll focus on registering inner city residents so more minorities with leukemia will have a better chance of finding a match. His goal is to add 10,000 names to the registry, which every day runs a computerized search for someone whose marrow might match his.

“I’m optimistic about the future,” Adebiyi said. “The more people who learn about the need, the better the chances there are to help.”•

Seun Adebiyi blogs at http://nigeria2014.. Anyone interested in becoming a bone marrow donor can visit www.dkmsamericas.org.






[color=#770077][/color]

It's so Amazing how we complicate or lives,you found the phone how are you sure she is hiding it from you in the first place and why can't you talk to her about it after all your marriage is just less than 60days according to your story,why don't you talk to your wife about it instead of Nairaland!!!
And stop being a cry baby telling us to tell you what to do before you hurt your self.
Be a man and shape your family the way you want it to be, trust me on this