A Special Thanks to Mothers this Mother’s Day

Mothers are often thought of as superheroes who can do it all. They don’t aways feel that way though, especially when things happen out of their control. This Mother’s Day, the American Red Cross is thanking all moms, especially those caring for ill or injured loved ones. Mothers like Carley Hamilton, who has been by her daughter’s side throughout her nearly two year-long battle with cancer.

London Hamilton was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma, a cancer that begins as a growth of cells in the bones and the soft tissue around the bones. Since then, London has received 65 transfusions of blood, platelets and plasma, in addition to 14 rounds of chemotherapy and a month of radiation. She’s also dealt with surgery and infection recovery, broken bones and a radiation burn.

“That’s where a lot of her transfusions came from,” Carley recalled. London struggled to get her counts back up after each setback. She needed her levels up to receive more chemo, so she received consistent transfusions to aid her in her battle. At times during her treatment, blood and platelet shortages forced London to wait for needed transfusions.

As London healed from a broken femur and the infections, things took a turn for the better. “When she was hospitalized, we had done a CT scan of her chest because she needed oxygen,” Carley recalled of this last hospital stay. “The CT came back with no evidence of the disease.” London has since finished her final chemotherapy treatment, is in remission and is awaiting a final PET scan to confirm that the cancer is gone.

The Red Cross partnered with London’s family and the National Honor Society at a local high school to host a blood drive where 132 people came out to donate – 50 of whom were first-time donors. On that day, 120 units of blood were given in London’s honor. “I never really understood the importance of blood donation until we started this cancer journey and to see how much it really saved London’s life,” Carley said.

“This is important, this is something I'm passionate about because it's telling the story that we've been through,” Carley said. “Telling everybody how blood donations have actually saved London's life and can save other people’s lives.”

While London is in remission, her older sister Cayley is also battling Ewing sarcoma, so the need for blood donations continues for their family. By donating blood, you can give a family – like the Hamiltons – hope. Find a blood drive and schedule an appointment to donate at RedCrossBlood.org, by calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or by using the Red Cross Blood Donor App.