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by **daleshrimpton** » Feb 19th, '10, 17:09

Ive just read the sad news on the Genii forum, that Tom Mullica, Internationaly known for his Geek magic act, was rushed into hospital on the 17th, following a colapse on stage, during his tribute to Red Skelton show.
Blood tests have shown that he is suffering from a severe form of Lukemia.

Lets all send him our thoughts, and prayers, in the hope that he recovers.

Further details may be found here....

http://www.geniimagazine.com/forums/ubb ... Post216299
D.

by **daleshrimpton** » Feb 22nd, '10, 21:52

Just a brief update..
I posted a message to Tom, wishing himwell on everybodys behalf and i got a reply...

Dale...
Thanks again...I do have many friends in the UK so pass on my best to them all. I'm doing as well as expeced for something as serious as I have...hope to be back on stage by the end of the year. Thanks again for the uplifting message.
Tom

Lets keep those healing thoughts going

by **BigShot** » Feb 23rd, '10, 02:38

Sad news indeed.

This seems as good a place as any to say:

Take this as prompting to head along to your local blood donation centre, give them a pint of blood while you're there, but before hand, when going through the donor health check, say you'd like to register as a bone marrow donor. The chances are you won't be able to help Tom directly by doing so - but there's a chance you'll be able to help someone in a similar situation.

We'd all (unless you're in some nutjob group that won't take blood donations for some barmy religious reason) take a donation of blood, marrow and the likes, but far fewer of us actually chip in to the stocks... it's quick, easy, and (take it from someone who still gets scared of the needle after all these donations - not that I'm in high numbers) really not all that bad, and certainly not as bad as you expect.

Obviously (and rightly), some lifestyle choices can exclude you from donating, as can some health conditions, but otherwise if you're able, you really should.

The effect it has to people like Tom and their families far outweighs any inconvenience it causes the donor.

by **Matthius88** » Feb 23rd, '10, 03:11

I don't know Tom personally, but my best wishes go out to him and his loved ones, it is a terrible disease and my family has been affected with it.

Good luck Tom.

by **jennytainer** » Feb 24th, '10, 16:10

He really needs our prayer while he is seriously ill. I hope that he can still recover from his sickness. According to blood tests and bone marrow biopsy, Tom's white blood cells were immature and that he has Acute Myelogenous Leukemia also known as blood and bone marrow cancer. Indianapolis Heart Bypass Surgery

by **daleshrimpton** » Sep 14th, '10, 13:15

Update.

Tom has posted on several forums the amazing news that, thanks to stem-cell technology, his bone marrow is no longer producing lukemia infected cells. In effect if it continues to be this way, he's cured.

I can only imagine that he would be fine with me sharing this brilliant news.. so I have taken the liberty of copying his own words, which have popped up on several forums.
Having lost some of the big names over the last few months, Its so refreshing to have such great news!!!

Saturday, August 21, 2010 5:21 PM, CDT
It was a long wait but I have FANTASTIC NEWS. Briefly, I started a journey down a road of uncertainty 8 months ago. After being told I had leukemia at the beginning of January of this year, Stephen and I checked into the Springfield, MO COX Hospital and started chemotheropy that very day. They bombarded me with bag after bag for 8 weeks. Then after a week or so, they discovered it hadn't done the job as well as they had expected so they gave me more. Things looked better so we were released from the hospital and went home. I was in remission for 4 months while my doctor searched the national registery for a stem-cell donor for me, he wanted me to be transplanted with new stem-cells, the only real cure.

One day he called and said they had found a 10 out of 10 match for me and that I should immediately check into the St. Louis Barnes Hospital where they specialize in this transplant procedure. I was in remission feeling just fine but they needed to destroy all my stem-cells before the transplant. I had a 2week chemo treatment which was stronger and more powerful than what I had received before. A 51 year old man was given growth hormones for a week or so to enhance his stem-cells then they were witdrawn from his body and flown to St. Louis. When the plane landed they were rushed to the hospital at which time I had my transplant, it was on the 14th of July. I then was watched very carefully and given rejection medicine so my new stem-cells wouldn't reject my body. It was a very tough time. On the 28th of July we were released from the hospital but were told to stay in the St. Louis area for periodic visits/check-ups/blood work. We checked into a furnished apartment and have been there ever since. We go to the hospital every 5-6 days for dressing changes, cathetor flushing and blood draws.

About 2 weeks ago they gave me a bone marrow biopsy which is the BEST test to see what is going on in my body. The results showed no leukemia in my blood which was the best news we had heard in a long time. Then, the better news came, one day after my birthday on August 19th. My doctor called us to say we could go back to Branson on August 25th and make trips back and forth to St. Louis instead of staying here and paying for this apartment. They he gave us the ULTIMATE GOOD NEWS. He said, "Your donor's stem cells have grafted perfectly and 100% of your stem-cells are now from your donor!" Which means I don't have any infected leukemia stem-cells in my bone marrow to produce bad cells down the line.

Isn't that unbelievable? How they could distroy my stem-cells and replace them with someone elses? Three people saved my life, Dr. John Dipersio, my donor and my dear Stephen who has been at my side 24 hours a day for the past 8 months. I'm not allowed to know who my donor is until a year after my transplant but when I do find out, I'm going to find him and thank him personally for saving my life. What a gift to give someone...the gift of life itself.

So, we'll be back in Branson soon. I've been told it may take over a year to recover completely but the worst is behind me.

Just wanted YOU to know.

One lucky guy,

Tom

by **Markdini** » Sep 14th, '10, 14:37

Smoking Kills , kids.

by **Mandrake** » Sep 14th, '10, 15:45

Good news like that is well worth sharing!

by **Mr_Grue** » Sep 14th, '10, 15:48

*googles stem cell transplants for leukaemia*

Wow! :shock:

Also, tread gently...

BigShot wrote:Obviously (and rightly), some lifestyle choices can exclude you from donating.

by **lozey** » Sep 22nd, '10, 23:01

Im really glad Tom is doing OK

Incidentally, I cant donate blood due to long term medication (my blood would poison someone else) but I am registered for bone marrow donation

by **Harris** » Sep 22nd, '10, 23:10

I tried to donate the stem cells from the cord blood from my kids.

I saw a documentary (and then followed up research) on how the blood from the cord can 'cure' a child up to ten years of age of certain leukaemias.

Problem was finding any centre or research facility that wanted it ! Hours I spent to various bone marrows places etc etc.

Such a waste ...

by **bmat** » Sep 23rd, '10, 02:49

I tried to donate blood once. They turned me down, said I was way to anemic. I have Crohn's and was told dontating blood is not necessarily the best move for me.

by **Ant** » Sep 23rd, '10, 19:30

This is good to see, it is just a shame that stem cell research get's such a bad press.

Slightly off topic but I really feel the UK should implement an "opt out" policy for organ donation then hopefully even more lives can be saved.

by **joury** » Jan 18th, '11, 19:09

daleshrimpton wrote:Update.

Tom has posted on several forums the amazing news that, thanks to stem-cell technology, his bone marrow is no longer producing lukemia infected cells. In effect if it continues to be this way, he's cured.

Good thing we have now bone marrow transplant although it is not yet a standard treatment therapy, but has been used successfully to treat diseases such as leukemia, lymphomas and some tumor cancers since 1968.

by **made to measure magic** » Jan 18th, '11, 22:24

I met Tom at the Innovention Convention in Las Vegas last October. He looked really well and said he hoped to get his Red Skelton show back on the road in March/April this year. I hope he does.

Dave.

www.madetomeasuremagic.co.uk

talkmagic.co.uk

Tom Mullica... rushed to hospital.... UPDATE

Tom Mullica... rushed to hospital.... UPDATE

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