Ellen Tichy watched her daughter Cassi lose her battle to Ewing sarcoma on May 20, 2018. On the fifth anniversary of that loss, Tichy is hosting a blood drive in San Jacinto to help others in need while honoring her daughter’s memory and bringing awareness to the need for more childhood cancer research.

On Saturday, May 20, from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., a LifeStream bloodmobile will be parked at the San Jacinto Stater Bros. market, 1537 S. San Jacinto Ave., to receive life-saving donations. Tichy, of Hemet, works closely with LifeStream to host monthly blood drives in the community.

It helps the blood bank replenish their blood supply which is experiencing a critical shortage. She is hoping to have at least 50 donors at this upcoming event, “ten for every year of this heartbreaking separation” from her daughter. “I look forward to giving blood because I know I’m helping others,” Tichy said, who tries to donate every 56 days, the allotted time frame set by LifeStream. “When Cassi needed 50-plus units of platelets and blood (during her treatments) I always wondered who had been generous enough to donate.”

Tichy is encouraging donors to wear yellow, Cassi’s favorite color, to honor her memory. She said that while her daughter is not physically here, “her spirit of light and love continues to shine ever so brightly.” While walk-ins are always welcome, Tichy is requesting that potential donors make an appointment as soon as possible so their wait time can be minimized and she can better organize the event.

To make an appointment, visit lstream.org/sanjacinto and mention code REPLCT21 to donate blood in honor of Cassi. In recent years, Tichy has partnered with Wings for Ewing Sarcoma, a nonprofit started by a young ballerina with the disease, and her mother, Sandra. Chiara Valle, of New York, was diagnosed in 2018 and has been out of treatment for about four years but still has regular screenings. Her cancer had not metastasized as was the case with Cassi. “This charity will also benefit from any blood donations on May 20,” Tichy said. In March, thanks to the efforts by Tichy and generous blood donors, LifeStream was able to present a $2,500 check to the Wings for Ewing Sarcoma nonprofit.

Tichy said Cassi was diagnosed with the rare childhood bone cancer when she was 15 and spent 32 months fighting it. She has kept her daughter’s memory alive through advocacy for more research and awareness campaigns that will help others stricken with the disease. And also by hosting regular blood drives as a way to give the gift of life to others. LifeStream’s website states, “Blood donations are urgently needed now to protect lifesaving treatments in your community.” It also shares information such as the fact that one donation can help multiple patients because following collection, red blood cells, plasma and platelets are separated, stored and distributed separately. Platelets are especially in need by cancer patients and must be used within five days of collection, a reason why new donations are continuously needed.

While no one wants to be in the position of needing blood to maintain health, to battle disease or to recover from injury, the site states that 1 in 4 people, at some point, will require a blood transfusion. Yet currently, less than 10% of the population eligible to donate blood actually does so. In preparation for donating, eat a hearty meal and drink plenty of fluids.

Bring a photo ID with proof of age. Donors under the age of 17 must bring a signed LifeStream parental consent form. To learn more about blood donations, visit www.lstream.org or call 800-879-4484. For more information, www.wingsforewingsarcoma.org and #shinebrightcassi.

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To honor her daughter on what would have been her 21st birthday, Tichy has organized a LifeStream blood drive in San Jacinto from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Dec. 31. She is asking everyone to give the gift Cassi would have wanted: the gift of life to others.

“I heard about this young ballerina who has survived the disease and started a nonprofit called Wings for Ewing Sarcoma,” said Tichy, of Hemet. “For each donation, LifeStream will allocate $10 to the nonprofit. This blood drive will help so many. There is a real shortage in our blood banks right now.”

LifeStream’s website states that there is no known risk to the safety of the nation’s blood supply due to COVID-19 and there are no reports of the spread of this or any respiratory virus, by blood donation. Giving blood is not a risk for donors to contract COVID-19. Misinformation will negatively impact the blood supply.

Wings for Ewing Sarcoma raises funds for research, which is mostly privately funded. Tichy was grateful to find this foundation as she had been trying to find a way to help other families avoid many of the negative experiences she suffered when Cassi first got sick. She is working closely with another mother, Sandra Valle, whose young daughter, Chiara, was diagnosed with the deadly disease in 2018, just a few months before Cassi Tichy succumbed to it.

The partnership between Tichy and the Valles is built on the similarities between their stories. Cassi and Chiara were both very creative, artistic and athletic young women who were sidelined in their teenage years with a diagnosis of Ewing Sarcoma. Both spent years of unnecessary testing and invasive treatments after being misdiagnosed and both spent countless months in harsh cancer treatment at children’s hospitals. Although the families live on opposite sides of the country, the miles shrank when Tichy contacted the organization and offered to host a charity blood drive with $10 per blood donation going directly to Wings for Ewing Sarcoma.

“This is the first time that a blood drive will be done to benefit the foundation,” said Sandra Valle, of New York. “We are very grateful for Ellen’s support of Wings for Ewing Sarcoma and are very excited for this collaboration. I think the blood drive is a wonderful idea to honor Cassi’s life as blood donations are always needed by all pediatric cancer patients. Kids like Cassi and Chiara needed 50+ blood transfusions each during their treatment in order to tolerate the harsh treatment Ewing Sarcoma patients receive.”

Cassi’s passion was art, with an amazing talent that emerged at age two, and skillfully evolved throughout the following years. Chiara Valle has been dancing since she was eight years old.

“Each year my passion for ballet grew more and more and I realized this was something I wanted to do as a career,” said Valle, 22. “Before being diagnosed and after retraining, I was a trainee at The Washington Ballet and was so grateful for the support system they provided me. Currently, I am dancing with City Ballet of San Diego, and am very excited to see what the future has in store for me.”

Diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma at age 19, Valle recently celebrated two years out of treatment.

“Performing and artistry is my favorite part about ballet and being able to tell a story only through movement and expression is a feeling like no other,” she said. “After being diagnosed, I was told that I needed to fully stop ballet while in treatment. Because the cancer was in my femur bone, any stress or fracture to the area, would require immediate amputation. I was fortunate enough to have the tumor remain localized throughout the year and a half I had been dealing with the pain.”

For Cassi, the disease had metastasized from her hip area and after a three-year battle, it had invaded every single bone and organ in her body, except for her heart. She had received over 50 units of blood and platelets during the many months of chemo, and she was grateful to each donor. Cassi and her story were the focus of a highly successful blood drive held in her honor during her senior year at Hemet High School where 200 units were collected.

Sandra Valle said her daughter wanted to start the foundation the moment she learned how outdated the protocol was.

“At the time of her diagnosis, we learned that even with the advancements in many cancers there was no targeted therapy for Ewing Sarcoma,” said Valle, of New York. “The only choice she had was chemo of the worst kind. The chemotherapy protocol used for treating Ewing Sarcoma has not changed in 30+ years and neither has the survival rate. We quickly realized that Ewing Sarcoma is so rare that not enough research is going into this ‘Orphan Disease.’ The main mission of the foundation is to raise funds for Ewing Sarcoma research.”

Ellen Tichy and Sandra Valle share the same goal to bring more awareness to this disease and encourage all parents to treasure every moment they can spend with their children.

“We need a cure for Ewing Sarcoma and all childhood cancers,” Valle said. “No family should have to go through this. Ultimately when you see your child fighting for their life, other things in life become trivial. Live your life daily like it is your last.”

Chiara Valle said, “You will never meet a stronger and kinder heart than a child who has dealt with cancer, and those that I met during treatment serve as a constant reminder to being able to do anything you put your heart to. Don’t take advantage of the little moments and be present in the moment.”

When she founded the nonprofit organization in May of 2019, Valle included a butterfly into the foundation’s logo, as a yellow butterfly is the symbol for Ewing Sarcoma and all types of bone cancer.

“Butterflies played a huge symbolic importance to me throughout treatment and continue to remain close to my heart,” she said. “Butterflies can spread their wings and fly, and all childhood cancer patients should have the opportunity to show their wings, making their own impact on this world.”

Valle also made sure to include the name Ewing Sarcoma in the foundation’s title.

“Because it is a rare cancer, I feel part of the lack of awareness stems from the fact that people don’t hear its name enough,” she said.

Cassi’s birthday will be a celebration with refreshments, donor gifts, artists and more to keep donors entertained while they are waiting to give the gift of life.

“Wear yellow and honor the memory of our brave, talented, deeply loved Cassi on her 21st birthday. She was named after the constellation, Cassiopeia, and she continues to shine bright in our hearts and memories,” Tichy said. “This is an opportunity for anyone age 15 or older to help others during this trying year for all of us. This is the last LifeStream blood drive of 2020.”

Blood can be tested for COVID-19 antibodies, so you will know if you can make a future life-saving convalescent plasma donation.

For appointments, please call 800-879-4484 or visit LStream.org. To donate blood in honor of Cassi Tichy, please use code REPLCT21. This code will be effective for future LifeStream blood donations.

Information, wingsforewingsarcoma.org.

-Diane A. Rhodes

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PALM SPRINGS (CNS) – With blood donations down due to the coronavirus pandemic, a two-day blood drive will begin today at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs.

“We are urging healthy residents to come forward to help make up this deficit by making appointments in the weeks ahead to help maintain an ample supply,” said Don Escalante, a spokesman for Lifestream Blood Bank, which is organizing the drive.

The San Bernardino-based donation service has had to cancel more than 80 mobile blood drives in Southern California planned from mid-March through the end of May, equaling about 5,000 pints of lost blood, he said.

For precautionary reasons, LifeStream is not accepting blood donations from healthcare workers who have cared for confirmed, or presumed, COVID-19 patients in the last 28 days.

Blood collected through donations to LifeStream flows to more than 80 hospitals in Riverside, San Bernardino, Orange, Los Angeles, Ventura and San Diego counties.

The drive at the Desert Regional Medical Center will be held at the hospital’s Jerry Stergios Building at 1150 N. Indian Canyon Drive from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesday and noon to 5 p.m. on Wednesday.

For appointments call 800-879-4484, or visit www.LStream.org.

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