Floodwaters can't wash away
Texas pastor's marrow transplant
___By Ferrell Foster
___Texas Baptist Communications
___HOUSTON--Brownsville pastor Gordon Malkowski became the focus of media attention in Houston Saturday morning, June 9, as a local television news helicopter delivered bone marrow needed for his transplant surgery.
___The marrow had been flown to Houston Intercontinental Airport from an undisclosed location Friday evening, but rising floodwaters made it impossible for the courier to transport the marrow from the airport to M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, said Malkowski, who is pastor of First Baptist Church in Brownsville and a cancer patient at Anderson.
___Malkowski's doctor called the local ABC-TV affiliate and said he had a story for them if they would pick up the bone marrow, the pastor explained.
___The Channel 13 helicopter picked up the material and broadcast the delivery to Hermann Hospital's helipad, where Malkowski's doctor received the container and drove it to Anderson. The TV helicopter then broadcast the doctor's drive.
___Malkowski could not see the unfolding television drama because the flood had knocked out power. His wife, Mary Beth, however, telephoned with reports of the television coverage; and nurses, who had access to a television, ran into the room telling him he was a star.
___The bone marrow arrived, and the transplant was performed at about 1 p.m. Saturday.
___Malkowski, 45, has non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, with a tumor in the lower left side of his back. Bone marrow is the liquid material that manufactures blood cells, he said. The transplant procedure can be an "ordeal" for the anonymous donor but is like a blood transfusion for the recipient.
___Doctors have 72 hours to complete the transplant process, Malkowski said. Thanks to the helicopter, his was completed in less than 28 hours. The doctor felt a sense of urgency because he didn't want the marrow to be left at the airport any longer than it already had been there.
___The pastor has been treated at M.D. Anderson off and on since last September. "The local churches here have been extremely helpful," even holding blood drives for him, he said. They've "gone the second mile for me."
___Back home, First Baptist Church has been "very supportive" as well. The congregation has continued to provide their pastor his full salary.
___Malkowski checked into the hospital May 31. He will have to stay 100 days after the transplant, including a time of isolation while his immune system rebuilds itself.
___While in isolation, he communicates with his wife through a window and a speakerphone. Malkowski uses his laptop computer to stay in touch with people and needs in Brownsville.
___Between chemotherapy, radiation and the transplant, Malkowski said he hopes to "zap this thing" and get back to his life and church.
___At the end of the 100 days in Houston, he expects his first Sunday home in September to include dedication of the church's worship center that is now under construction. In the meantime, a "very extensive number of people are praying for me," he said.
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