Peninsula students stand with Team Michael
Students and staff at Peninsula Elementary wore red Friday to show solidarity with Michael Owen, a student at Larson Heights Elementary who was diagnosed with aplastic anemia in January and recently received a bone marrow transplant from his brother.
MOSES LAKE — A sea of red shirts flooded the playground at Peninsula Elementary Friday afternoon, as students and staff sent a message of support to a peer who is hospitalized in Seattle.
Michael Owen, an 8-year-old student at Larson Heights Elementary, was diagnosed with aplastic anemia in January, a condition in which bone marrow does not produce enough blood cells. Michael recently received a bone marrow transplant at Seattle Children’s Hospital, which he was scheduled to receive in mid-February but was delayed due to health complications.
The bone marrow donor was Michael’s brother, Daniel. The two brothers have been at the hospital in Seattle with mother Prelita, who teaches fourth-grade at Larson Heights, since early February awaiting the transplant. Michael’s sister, Mary, is also a student at Larson Heights and has been at home in Moses Lake with their father, Pat.
According to an update on the GoFundMe page set up to help the Owen family, Michael’s blood has to reach an absolute neutrophil count (ANC) of 500 per microliter and sustain it for several days before he can be discharged. At that point, he would start outpatient clinics for two to three months.
According to the GoFundMe page, Michael’s ANC rose from 103 March 22 to 227 March 23. That was the most recent update provided.
Friday, students and staff at Peninsula congregated to send a video of support to the Owen family. Mark Radocaj, a fifth-grade teacher at the school, said staff members have been following Michael’s situation and hoping for the best, and the students wanted to do something to help.
Several weeks ago, Peninsula raised more than $900 in a penny drive to benefit patients with blood diseases, but Radocaj said the school’s student council felt more should be done.
“After we got done, the kids didn’t feel that they wanted to be done,” Radocaj said. “So the students on the council suggested that we do a Team Michael thing for him.”
The students put together a variety of projects to show their support for their peer. They made posters that were signed by all students in the building. Some wrote letters to be sent to the hospital to raise his spirits. Friday, the students donned red shirts, held up letters reading “Team Michael,” and waved for a video that will be sent to the Owen family with the rest of the materials.
Their goal, Radocaj said, was to hopefully provide Michael and his family with some inspiration and support during their challenging time.
Radocaj said though Michael received the bone marrow transplant, he is “not out of the woods yet.” Doctors are still monitoring him to make sure the transplant takes successfully.
According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), mild cases of aplastic anemia may not require treatment, but severe cases, like Michael’s, require bone marrow or stem cell transplants. Bone marrow transplants can be “very successful in young people,” according to the NLM.
In February, students and staff at Larson Heights Elementary did a similar activity to show support for their classmate. Staff at Larson indicated it is not expected that Michael will return to school this year, but like everybody else, they are simply hoping he recovers to full health.
As of Friday afternoon, nearly $4,700 had been donated to the GoFundMe campaign set up to help the Owen family with the medical expenses they are accruing. To make a contribution to support the Owens, visit www.gofundme.com/4zrepgz8.
Ryan Minnerly can be reached via email at county@columbiabasinherald.com.