Blood needed to save boy

CUSTOM OUIf you’re looking to help others as part of your New Year’s resolution, start with Calabasas 11-year-old Max Buelow, who desperately needs blood and blood platelets. Blood platelets are substances that allow the blood to clot.

Max is being treated for Ewing’s Sarcoma (bone cancer) and the medication he takes leads to excessive bleeding, according to his mom, Tracey Buelow. Max needs blood platelets three times a week, she said.

“A simple nose bleed can be a life-threatening issue,” Buelow said. “A bump on the head can cause an internal bleed. He’s a rambunctious 11-year-old boy. You can only imagine how easy it is to get a simple bump on the head. Even playing or roughhousing with his sisters is a dangerous issue for him.”

Max was diagnosed with bone cancer in 2002. Last winter, he had a bone marrow transplant, but relapsed the following the spring. Max has since undertaken an experimental therapy called Avastin treatment, which is an adult cancer treatment that only two other children at Children’s Hospital have tried, according to Buelow. Both children had unsuccessful results, the mom said.

“They tried it on Max as a kind of last ditch effort and it’s working out really well,” Buelow said. “But this drug (in the treatment) causes bleeding issues. And chemotherapy kills off your blood counts, your white cells, your red cells and all of the components thereof. So Max needs to get platelet transfusions because his bone marrow doesn’t recover quickly enough to keep his platelets at a safe level to control the bleeding that can occur with this medicine.”

Recently, Max had to go to Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles because of a nosebleed that wouldn’t stop, and was in dire need of blood. So far, Max has been fortunate to have blood in his blood bank when he’s needed it.

“There’s only been one incident where there hasn’t been blood in his bank,” Buelow said.

Max’s older sister Emily, 12, has leukemia (a blood cancer). She was diagnosed at age 4½. Emily had a bone marrow transplant when she was 7 years old, but will have long-term problems, including growth, fatigue and short-term memory issues, according to Buelow. Fortunately, Emily remains healthy, Buelow said.

Buelow pointed out that Max and Emily’s cancer cases are nonhereditary and unrelated.

Those who would like to donate blood or platelets on Max’s behalf should call Children’s Hospital at (323) 660-2450 and ask for the blood donor center. Ask to donate to Max Buelow’s Blood Bank. Children’s Hospital is located at 4650 Sunset Boulevard, #54 in Los Angeles.

“This is a really important thing to do, it’s an easy thing to do and it’s a way for someone to have a hand in saving Max’s life,” Buelow said. “This isn’t a small thing. This is making him able to take this treatment that is saving his life.”