These kids give of themselves

The Boston Herald

Beverly Beckham

I open the door expecting to hear laughter and chatter, the usual noises that accompany a group of young people. But they are quiet. Some are sitting in chairs; others are sprawled on the floor. Only a few are talking, and that's in a whisper. After some questions, they loosen up. Still you can feel their apprehension. It's justified. Most have never given blood before.

'I'm a big wimp. I hate needles,' Bob Smith admits. He gave blood last year and passed out. Needles, he says, have that effect on him. 'But anything you can do, you know?' Kerry Jacobs groans that she's 'a baby,' too. Ashley Dizel confesses she's 'a little nervous.' Phaly Walker just smiles and says, 'I'm really not nervous at all.'

Here they are 40 Rockland High School seniors at Children's Hospital at 10 o'clock on a Monday morning all waiting to give blood. Next Monday, 40 more will arrive. Later, teachers and staff will be bused in for still more donations. It's the least they can do, they say.

'That's why we're here,' says one after another. 'We want to do something.'

'I'm scared. I can't wait to get it over with but I'm glad I'm here. I'm glad I'm doing it,' Melissa McGrath says. Everyone agrees. Michelle Boylan is here, too. She's the reason so many seniors are here. Her 10-year-old sister Elizabeth was diagnosed with aplastic anemia in December. On Jan. 14 she had a bone marrow transplant. Michelle was the marrow donor. Elizabeth is still upstairs in isolation where she will remain for at least a few more weeks. Her family visits her every day. Her illness came unexpectedly. A week before she was diagnosed, she was playing soccer and basketball and seemed in the best of health. Connie and Philip Boylan attribute their family's emotional strength to the strong, unflagging support of the community.

'We couldn't have done it without the help of neighbors and friends,' Connie Boylan says. -- They have had people to help with everything - babysit, cook meals, run errands, chauffeur the kids about - and people just to talk to, to lean on.

'They've even shoveled our sidewalk. They've made things a lot better for us,' she adds.

Classmates of Michelle wanted to do something special for her, too, to show they cared. There was a meeting in the school auditorium at which giving blood was discussed. A few days later 80 students had signed up.

'My mom does it all the time,' says Dan Hentschel. 'She said it isn't bad.' But it's his first time giving blood. The kids are called into an adjacent room a few at a time. The others sit and wait, their anxiety growing by the minute. One of the first donors returns. 'How long did it take?' 'Did you feel it?'

'They make you hold a ball and squeeze it every 10 seconds,' he says. The kids ponder this for a few seconds then continue to ask more questions.

Chris George comes back and announces, 'It was better than I expected. I'll do it all the time now that I know what it's like.'

And everyone breathes a little easier.

Each time someone returns, the noise level in the room goes up a bit more. 'It isn't that bad. It doesn't take long.' Many people believe that kids today are selfish, that they don't give of themselves, that they don't care about anyone but themselves. They're wrong.

'I would have done this anyway, even if I didn't know Michelle,' says John Livermore even as blood flowed from his arm. 'I know there's a need for blood. I know it's helping someone.' The someone doesn't matter, the kids agreed. They just want to help