CHL Mississippi RiverKings

RiverKings family steps forward to help St. Jude patients

September 7, 2004 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Mississippi RiverKings News Release


SOUTHAVEN—St. Jude Children's Research Hospital has put out an urgent request to supporters to help increase blood donations, especially for O negative types, and RiverKings wife Brandy Mattice is responding to the call, starting with herself.

Mattice, who recently celebrated one year of marriage to RiverKings Equipment Manager Dave "Ab" Mattice, is more than familiar with the halls of St. Jude. Her sister Hannah was born in 1988, and before her first birthday she was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia. Mattice was nine; her middle sister, Lydia, was six.

"I can remember having my blood taken a lot," Mattice said. "My whole family in two states traveled to St. Jude to donate. I was Hannah's bone marrow donor as well. Most of the kids there are in need of platelets and blood."

Despite the grim prognosis for Hannah and for most of the children at St. Jude, Mattice said she and her family found themselves in a very friendly, very loving atmosphere.

"It was almost like a requirement that everyone hired there have a loving, dedicated heart when it came to their job," she said. "The people who work there are very connected to their patients. It's their personal goal that each child survives their illness."

Hannah died in September of 1991, at three and a half years of age. However, Mattice is grateful to the hospital and staff for giving her family a chance to know Hannah for so long. In addition, the experience gave Mattice's mother a whole new direction in life.

"After Hannah died, my mom decided to go back to school," Mattice said. "We were still in elementary school and she had been a housewife all her life, but she wanted to become a nurse because of the nurses she met at St. Jude. It was inspiring to her. I'm sure the doctors and nurses and the rest of the staff have inspired other people as well. Who knows how many lives they've touched."

Mattice said giving blood is important for many reasons, both tangible and not, and she and Dave have scheduled an appointment to donate this month.

"Who knows? One day it's going to be you on that table and they're going to say, ‘Ooops, sorry, we don't have any O negative blood,' and your last thought will be something like, ‘Wow, that stinks,'" Mattice said.

"I think the biggest thing to realize, though, is that when you donate blood you give hope. Hope is a very, very cherished feeling. There are many people who don't have that.

"If I could, I would go out and find the cure for every type of cancer out there. I am in no way qualified to do that. But I am qualified to give blood once a month or every two weeks or whenever I can.

And that goes for wherever you donate, whether it's at St. Jude or to Lifeblood. Sometimes I think, ‘This or that person doesn't deserve the good medical care they're getting because of what they've done,' but there may be someone connected to them who needs hope. You never know who you're going to touch. Everyone deserves a little hope."

The hospital is in desperate need of O negative type blood, but is always accepting any donations of any blood type as well as platelets. To donate, call 901-495-2024.



Central Hockey League Stories from September 7, 2004


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