Help Kevin Weston
Meet Kevin Weston
"My heart. My joy. Stay here. Please stay here." Lateefah Simon, August 31, 2012
Kevin Weston is a 44 year old new media journalist living in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is father to 1 year old Lelah, stepfather to 16 year old Aminah and the husband of Lateefah Simon. As a long-time mentor to aspiring journalists of color, Kevin's life has touched many. Now, Kevin and his family need our help. In August 2012, Kevin was diagnosed with an extremely rare form of leukemia. A bone marrow match can help save his life. Kevin is African-American. Only about 8% of the nation's 10 million registered bone-marrow donors are Black, which makes his chance of finding a bone marrow match quite slim. You are the key to helping Kevin change those odds.
Upcoming Events
Join us at these upcoming events! Kevin needs a transplant within the next 2 months. Though people can go online to register, we are holding events throughout the Bay Area to recruit donors to join the bank immediately!
- February 19, from 6 - 8 p.m., Design Studio for Social Intervention, 1946 Washington St., Boston, MA, an event during their Black History Month event featuring Tahir Hemphill & D'hana Perry
- February 19, from 4 - 6 p.m., Youth Uprising Center, 8711 Macarthur Blvd., Oakland - hosted by the Youth Uprising Center and Olis Simmons
- February 20, from 11 - 1 p.m. Mills College, Rothwell Student Center in the Solidarity Lounge, 5000 Macarthur Blvd. Oakland - hosted by the First & Second Year classes of Mills College
- February 23, from 9 - 3 p.m. at Laney College [in the gym], 900 Fallon St. Oakland, hosted by African American Organizations Making Connections and Alameda County Supervisor, Keith Carson
- February 23, from 10 - 3 p.m. at RTF Educators' Institute, 525 4th Street, Oakland, in conjunction with Blood Centers of the Pacific
- February 26, from 12 - 4 p.m., at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, 525 Golden Gate Ave., conference room - hosted by Harlan Kelly Jr., General Manager and Juliet Ellis, Assistant General Manager
- March 31, from 6 - 10 a.m., at St. Paul AME Church, Easter Sunrise Service, 2024 Ashby Ave, Berkeley - hosted by Pastor Michael McBride and Rev. Dr. Leslie White, Pastor
Additional events to be announced as the details are finalized.
The process is easy:
- Review the medical guidelines to ensure that you are able to join the bone marrow registry.
- Be between the ages of 18 - 44.
- Fill in the bone marrow registry pre-medical screening and contact form.
- Swab your cheek!
The whole process takes less than 10 minutes - and you could make the difference and save someone's life.
To find out other ways you can help, please contact Ayoka at: helpkevinweston@gmail.com
How you Can Help!
African Americans
- Join Be the Match
bone marrow registry today. It takes just a few minutes to do the
pre-screening and order a kit to mailed directly to you, and you can be
the one to save a life.
Kevin and Lateefah's Story
In
2012, life was good for Kevin Weston and Lateefah Simon. Deeply in
love, the young couple was raising their beautiful daughters Lelah, 1
and Aminah, 16. Kevin, a long time Bay Area journalist, Kevin had just
been admitted to the prestigious John S. Knight journalism fellowship at
Stanford University. Lateefah, a nationally recognized civil rights
leader, had started a job as a Program Director at the Rosenberg
Foundation and in the spring was to start the SEERS Fellowship program
for social entrepreneurs at Stanford University.
Then, in an instant, everything changed. Now, Kevin and Lateefah urgently need your help.
On August 27, 2012, three days before his 44th birthday, Kevin woke up with a sore throat.
At Lateefah's insistence, he went to Kaiser Hospital in Santa Clara. He was admitted into the ICU, and diagnosed with a deadly flesh eating bacteria - and a rare form of leukemia. Known as T-cell Prolymphocytic Leukemia (T-PLL), the cancer is very rare and aggressive, with only 10 cases per year in the United States. It primarily affects adults over the age of 30.
Doctors
told Lateefah that she should gather his loved ones to see him. It
might be their last chance to do so, they said. People came in droves
from far and wide, organized fundraisers and food deliveries, shared
their grief on social media, held prayer circles, stood vigil outside
the ICU and hoped for a miracle.
On August 28th, Kevin underwent the first of 5 emergency surgeries to clear the life-threatening bacterial infection.
On Saturday, September 1st, Kevin opened his eyes and told Lateefah that he was ready to get married. And so they did, surrounded by more than 30 friends and family members crowded around his bedside. In photos of that day, Kevin is in a white hospital gown, eyes closed. His face is swollen from the surgeries and raging infection; there are tubes and monitors attached everywhere. "For better or for worse, in sickness and health", Lateefah vowed. Too weak to speak, Kevin could barely nod his head but he squeezed Lateefah's hand.
And then - a miracle occurred - Kevin continued to recover. On September 24th, almost a month after first going to the hospital with a sore throat, Kevin walked out of the hospital with Lateefah, Lelah and Aminah by his side.
But Kevin and Lateefah's story is not over. Today, Kevin continues to undergo chemotherapy and has endured multiple hospitalizations. In order to truly have a chance at life and living, he needs to find a bone marrow donor by the end of February of this year.
Unfortunately, right now, the odds of Kevin finding a match are slim. Only about 7 or 8% of the nation's 10 million registered potential bone-marrow donors are black. Help save Lelah's Daddy. Help Kevin and Lateefah change the odds for their family by helping to increase the number of African Americans registered to be bone marrow donors.
Join
Be the Match bone marrow registry today. It takes just a few minutes to
do the pre-screening and order a kit to mailed directly to you, and you
can be the one to save a life.
