Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/763593
51 www.thunderpress.net THUNDER PRESS nJanuary 2017n donate blood. He's getting transfusions and platelets, too. Chris is a good dad and a great husband but this is just so hard for him. He's tired a lot; he'd sleep all day if we'd let him. This is very hard on everyone, but we're hopeful. People have been so gener- ous and kind. Look at all these people who've come out to support him. This is really awesome. I don't know how to thank them all, but this is about paying it forward, too. To help other patients and try to pay it back for oth- ers and we want to donate money. We have a goal of $10,000 for this year and we're close." By the time riders were saddled up for the poker run fi ve more donors had joined the registry. Riders enjoyed a mellow trip through the surrounding back roads before arriving at the Road Trip Bar and Grill in Capay where even more supporters gathered. Halie O'Ryan and her band were rocking the house while the Sacramento Kings girls posed with fans and friends. Raffl e prizes were piled high as riders checked their poker hands, anxious to see if they would be taking home the nice plaques that were to be awarded. The longest distance rider was Mike, who came almost 650 miles down from Washington. Of the 156 riders regis- tered, it was Flint who took the high hand and Bruce scored low hand on his Can-Am Spyder. Over $1,250 was raised for the registry, which brought the year's total of $7,250—within reach of their ultimate $10,000 goal. Through it all, Chris roamed around and shook hands, thanking everyone for coming. Chris's dad Al and his wife Misty told about their trip to Sturgis and the new Street Glide they got earlier this year and the after- noon played out into what felt like a family reunion. Warm and gracious, the family never lost sight of the pur- pose of the day. Though I'd initially thought the run was about helping Chris fi nd a donor it also became clear that, by helping their loved one, the Contreras family is also helping others. Nearly 40 percent of the patients regis- tered with Be the Match are from other countries, so the matches made reach far beyond this little farming commu- nity in Northern California. The help is worldwide. Last year 537,000 peo- ple joined the registry but matching tissue types from donor to patients is a complex process, much more compli- cated than just matching blood types. The registry encourages donors to carefully consider their commitment to donate since a last-minute decision to not donate can be life threatening to a patient. Donating is a selfl ess act, to be sure, altogether the registry has more than 13.5 million donors ready to con- tribute bone marrow and that number is growing due to the efforts by people like the Contreras family. "Originally I started doing this for Chris, " Stacy shared. "Now, after all this time, even though we still haven't found a match, we're still hopeful. It's like a needle in a haystack, but we will fi nd a donor. Feeling like we're helping other people helps a lot, too. We're not giving up. I'm in this for as long as it takes." To fi nd out how to register for bone marrow donation and various other ways to help save lives, go to bethematch.org/about-us. You can purchase T-shirts and follow Chris's progress on his Facebook page, Team Chris. 4 Chris's dad, Al and his wife Misty ride a spiffy new Street Glide and were on hand to pitch in to help with the poker run Halie O'Ryan kept toes tapping at the Road Trip Bar & Grill end party Flint and his lady rode the poker run and ended up winning the high hand award Chris and Stacy Contreras, left front, were joined by family and friends to help fi nd a bone marrow donor for Chris while simultaneously raising awareness and registering volunteer donors for Be the Match