Pat Pedraja was the fastest runner in his fourth grade. Four months later, he couldn't even walk.
He was in pain, had bone breaks in his arms and was forced to use a wheelchair. The diagnosis: juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. But his family suspected something else was wrong.
In March 2006, Pat was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a cancer of the white blood cells. Within two months of undergoing chemotherapy, he not only could walk but, more important, could play hockey.
"I'm like a Canadian in Florida," says Pat, 11, of Palm Harbor.
When he's not consumed with hockey, Pat is working on a national campaign to help save the lives of people in need of bone marrow transplants. Pat, who's Cuban-Irish, hasn't needed one, but a friend who did died because she couldn't find a matching donor.
"He said, 'Let's do a marrow drive,'" says Pat's mom, Claudine Andrews, 38. "But him being Pat, he said, 'No, let's do a national marrow drive.' He pulled out a map and mapped out 25 cities, which has now turned into a 31-city national tour."
Driving for Donors will kick off May 5 in Tampa and hit places such as Boston, Seattle and Los Angeles over the summer. Pat will have family members along for the ride. That includes Andrews (who's learning to drive the RV), stepdad Keith Albrizzi, stepsister Jocelyn Albrizzi, 14, and stepbrothers Nathan Albrizzi, 12, and Tucker Albrizzi, 7. Pat's father, who lives in Miami, will join them in California for the last leg of the trip.
Pat's goal is to recruit 2,007 donors for the National Marrow Donor Program Registry in 2007.
"I'm very happy, and not just because we get to travel," Pat says. "Everything's a challenge to me. And everything is going to be a challenge to get 2,007 donors in 2007. I'd like to see how it all comes together."
RV Sales of Broward donated an RV. Now the family needs to raise about $140,000 for tissue-typing tests ($52 per person), insurance, gas, food and a wrap for the RV.
Pat has sold everything from chocolates to ad space on his bald head to raise money. All Road Communications of California recently had a winning eBay bid of $5,100 to have Allroadsat.com emblazoned on his head for two months.
To help the cause, bd's Mongolian Grill is hosting the One Child's Dream/Driving for Donors Guest Griller Dinner on March 25. Nolan Pratt of the Tampa Bay Lightning along with ThunderBug and the Lightning girls, state Sen. Mike Fasano, Rep. Gus Bilirakis and a slew of local media will be grilling away.
The evening will include a silent auction and have an Xbox set up. Florida Blood Services will be registering marrow donors.
You could say Pat's quest to increase awareness is going well. He'll head to New York next week to tape a segment for Access Hollywood's Access to a Dream. Cameras will roll Tuesday, and he's willing to sell ad space on his head again for the national spotlight.
Although he's jet-setting, the reality of leukemia remains. After a year of intense chemo, Pat began 2 1/2 years of maintenance Tuesday at St. Joseph's Children's Hospital of Tampa.
Pat says he prefers leukemia to arthritis because he can walk, run and play hockey. This fall, he can't wait to attend Carwise Middle School. This past year, through the Hospital Homebound program, an instructor visited twice a week for lessons.
"Even in a wheelchair and in pain, he made the principal's list," Andrews says.
Perhaps that's where his entrepreneurial spirit sprung.
Andrews calls her son an old soul. "The day after his diagnosis, he said, 'I'm glad I got leukemia. It's going to teach me a lesson.' He meant it was going to teach him something he needed to know in his life," Andrews says. "He's glad he got it."
"I just hope people remember that everyone can do something to help save a life if they do their part," Pat says.
GRILL OUT
WHAT: One Child's Dream/Driving for Donors Guest Griller
WHEN: 6:30 to 9 p.m. March 25
WHERE: bd's Mongolian Grill, 3140-B Tampa Road, Oldsmar
COST: $30 for adults, $24 for children
HOW TO JOIN
You are taking the first step to giving someone hope when you join the National Marrow Donor Program Registry. Here's how:
•You must be age 18 to 60 and in good overall health.
•You must be willing to donate to any patient in need.
•If you live outside the United States or are in the military, visit
www.marrow.orgto find out how to register.
•Complete an online registration form and order your tissue-typing kit for $52.
•Use the kit to give a swab of your cheek cells to test for your tissue type.
•You can also search for a donor registration drive at
www.marrow.org.
•If you are chosen as a match, donations may be taken from a needle in your arm (similar to blood donation) or during surgery from your pelvic bones. Soreness can last a few days. Your marrow is completely replaced within six weeks.
Source: National Marrow Donor Program