Community Corner
Clark Girl, 15, Needs Life-Saving Bone Marrow Transplant
A fundraiser has been started for Julia Morreale, 15, of Clark whose only chance for a cure is a bone marrow transplant.
CLARK, NJ — Julia Morreale of Clark has literally been fighting for her life since she was born. At 15-years-old Morreale has already undergone a heart transplant and has been fighting cancer, which now is spreading.
Her only chance for a cure is a bone marrow transplant, says Morreale's cousin Amerina Petrucci.
"Julia would be the first heart transplant patient to have a bone marrow transplant at [Memorial Sloan Kettering] making this a risky and experimental treatment," Petrucci said.
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Since it is unclear if insurance will cover the experimental treatment, Petrucci started a fundraiser to help Morreale's family cover the cost of a bone marrow transplant. Money collected would also be used to cover additional funds such as the cost of being an inpatient for an extended period of time, lost income, the cost to care for their other two children, and help with day-to-day expenses while caring for a sick child, etc.
Morreale's parents Nadia and Elio are from Toronto, Canada and they uplifted their family to the United States, specifically Clark, to seek life-saving treatment from Memorial Sloan Kettering as they exhausted all other medical treatment available in Canada, Petrucci said.
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"This family has incurred and will continue to incur enormous expenses. Let’s help them take away some of the financial burden that comes with having a sick child so they can focus on Julia," Petrucci said.
The Morreale's family is also planning on holding a Bone Marrow Drive to expand the chance of finding a suitable donor for Julia. In order to get as many people to the drive to be tested, the family will cover all costs associated with this drive. The drive will be announced at a later time.
To learn more about Julia Morreale and the fundraiser click here.
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