Drive For Destiny

GV  Alternatives has organized a fundraiser with two goals in mind: to help  a local family in need and to raise awareness about the importance of  blood donations. June—a loyal GV Alternatives customer since our  inception who has become a great friend—and his wife, Kasey, have a  14-year-old daughter named Destiny who was recently diagnosed with  Aplastic Anemia, a rare condition that causes the body to stop producing  enough blood cells. Aplastic Anemia causes a myriad of dangerous  symptoms and can be life threatening if left untreated. Destiny and her  parents have had to travel to see specialists and for treatments, which  has created financial hardship for the family. While Destiny has medical  insurance, insurance does not relieve all of her parents’ financial  burdens, which include the cost of temporary housing, travel costs,  food, loss of income due to time off of work to be with their child  during treatment, and much more. Also, the severe blood shortage our  country is experiencing presents yet another issue for Destiny. She  responds best to treatments when she can receive two units of blood, but  periodically she's been given only one unit due to rationing. So, if  you are unable to donate monetarily, please consider helping Destiny,  and others like her, by donating blood.

Destiny’s  initial symptom was a headache, which quickly progressed to blurred  vision. During an emergency room visit, the family found out that  Destiny had a buildup of spinal fluid that was causing pressure on her  optic nerves, in turn affecting her vision. After countless tests,  including a spinal tap and two bone marrow biopsies, Destiny finally  received a severe Aplastic Anemia diagnosis. Her course of treatment  will include four days of chemotherapy, a rest day, and then a bone  marrow transplant. Destiny and her family are currently waiting on an  admission date to the Ronald McDonald House in Rochester, NY, where she  will be admitted to the hospital for about a month. Her family will need  to stay in temporary housing right near the hospital for anywhere  between 60-100 days after her transplant, but it will be an even longer  road to full recovery for Destiny. It will take two weeks for the bone  marrow transplant to engraft and then, finally, Destiny will start to  produce her own healthy blood cells, but it will take an entire year to  fully recover. Luckily Destiny’s 3-year-old brother, Micah—who faces his  own challenges with allergies and autism—is a perfect bone marrow match  and will be her donor. We know how honored he will be to have the  opportunity to be his sister’s hero.

Destiny  can’t wait to move on from this chapter of her life so she can get back  to doing the things she loves, like horseback riding! One day, she  plans to work in the medical field so she can help children facing  similar heath struggles as she is fighting through now. She’s also been  dreaming since she was very young of becoming a cosmetologist, and she  is very talented in that already. We’re confident that she’ll excel at  whatever she chooses to do with her life, and the first step toward  realizing her dreams is overcoming this current hardship.

In  effort to bring awareness to Aplastic Anemia and to help relieve some  of the supplementary expenses of Destiny’s treatment, GV Alternatives  will be holding a month-long fundraiser, and 100% of proceeds will be  donated to Destiny’s family. Throughout the month we will be holding  weekly raffles and offering t-shirts for sale. The shirt features a  quote that serves to remind us that we are all connected, that we’re all  in this together, and that Destiny’s fight is our fight. In addition to the weekly raffles and t-shirt sales and other events we  will have a donation jar in-store, an option to round up your change  from your in-store purchases as well as a donation page on our website  for those of you who are unable to come into the store but still want to  show your support. There will also be a donation table set up in the store stocked with SWAG we will be offering in exchange for donations. Thank you all for your generous support of a loving,  local family that is fighting a challenging battle.