GILROY
– A Gilroy father of three has found a bone marrow donor to help
him wage war against leukemia, but he has another battle to win
first.
GILROY – A Gilroy father of three has found a bone marrow donor to help him wage war against leukemia, but he has another battle to win first.
Hector Herrera Jr., 28, is in Kaiser Santa Teresa Hospital fighting pneumonia – a battle he must win before he can have a bone marrow transplant to continue his three-year fight against the deadly blood cancer.
But just finding a matching donor is like winning the lottery.
“It is rare (to find a donor match) because there are so few minorities in the registries,” said Diane Herrera, Hector’s wife.
Her reaction when Hector’s oncologist called last week with the good news?
“Immediate, just overwhelming joy,” Diane said Saturday. “I still get teary-eyed.”
The family doesn’t know the identity of the bone marrow donor – it could be someone from the national registry, or someone who signed up during local donor drives, including one held by Gilroy Rotary.
Hector, a father of three, including 8-year-old David, 4-year-old Steven, and 2-month-old Katelynn, was diagnosed with leukemia in May 2000. He underwent a two-year treatment of chemotherapy, and was cancer-free for a year after the treatment ended before he relapsed.
“His relapse was almost a year to the day after his last treatment,” Diane said.
Hector’s family, which has lived in Gilroy for generations, has been a big help during the long battle. Hector’s parents are Hector Herrera Sr. and Diane Garcia. His father worked for years at Gilroy Foods, and his mother works at Chicago Title. His paternal grandparents are Victor and Celia Herrera, and his maternal grandparents are Molly and Steve Garcia.
Once Hector conquers the pneumonia, which doctors say might take as long as three weeks, he’ll be transferred to Stanford Hospital in Palo Alto.
“They have a bone marrow (department) just for that,” Diane said. “As soon as he gets over there, he’ll go through more chemotherapy, very intense chemo, where they weaken his immune system down to nothing.”
After his immune system is nearly destroyed, Hector will receive the potentially lifesaving bone marrow transplant.
Hector will be in the hospital, in isolation, for at least 45 days, and then he’ll be released to a private apartment in Palo Alto, where he will live for at least another 45 days. His uncle, Zeke Herrera, will live in the apartment with Hector. A 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week caretaker is required by the bone marrow transplant program to assist with monitoring Hector’s medication and condition. Hector will make daily visits to Stanford Hospital for checkups.
Diane will remain in Gilroy with their three children – including newborn Katelynn – and continue working as South Valley Newspapers’ business manager while Hector is in Palo Alto.
“I’m our only financial support,” Diane said.
The apartment will cost $75 a day, and the family is asking for community donations to help defray the cost of the apartment and other costs associated with Hector’s treatment. A fund has been established at the 10th Street branch of the Wells Fargo Bank to accept donations on the Herrera family’s behalf.
Details: To donate, send checks to the Hector Herrera Bone Marrow Transplant Fund, c/o Wells Fargo Bank, 273 E. 10th Street, Gilroy, 95020; the account number is 1833209412, and the routing number is 511400393.
