Your View 8/1: Help is needed

We are writing to you today in hopes of your help and this community! Our sister is going to Washington, D.C., on Aug. 4 for a stem cell - bone marrow transplant in hopes of extending her life with us! Lisa Hope "Ross" Gribble is a native of Sikeston.

She graduated with the class of 1983. She moved away when she was 22, and at the present now resides in Blytheville, Ark. Many of her friends and family remain in the Sikeston area. She has been fighting cancer for 4 1/2 years. She has not surrendered to this illness nor will she stop this fight. She is the bravest person we know! Her faith in Christ Our Lord is a testimony to all who believe in God and those who doubt in his healing.

In the process of chemo and side effects she hasn't lost her sense of humor. Even now, she walks into the chemo center with her Dolly wigs and Billy Bob teeth on and lights up the room. Our baby sister is so full of joy for life and what God will do for her. Our hope is that her hometown will search their hearts as she has a need now. The donor will be our sister, Terri. The transplant is experimental and without cost. But the cost for lodging will be $20,000 or more. This is a new procedure for breast cancer patients and Lisa will be the 16th person in the United States to receive it. She will be in Washington D.C. for four to six months or more. Our other sister, LuAnn, will be able to stay with her the time she is there. She will have to have 24-hour care.

Bone marrow transplant patients are usually treated in specialized centers and the patient stays in a special nursing facility to limit exposure to infections. Her husband, Tim, and two children, Alex, 12, and Haley, 10, can stay with her until the end of August, but school and work will send them back home. Their medical expenses throughout the 4 1/2-year battle are beyond comprehension.

It is our hope that local churches could take up a love offering to help with the housing, travel and living expenses while she's in Washington. Anyone reading this could help in any small way, be it monetary, words of encouragement, or cards of hope. These would all be deeply appreciated. We, her many friends and family, also ask that you keep Lisa in your thoughts and prayers.

Thank you and God Bless!!

The family of Lisa Hope "Ross" Gribble

All cards, donations, words of encouragements for Lisa can be sent to:

Armorel Baptist Church P.O. Box 68 Armorel, AR 72310