Now the child has a name. He is Joseph Cail, an 11-year-old from Jacksonville who is battling aplastic anemia, a bone marrow disorder affecting fewer than 1,000 people in the United States.

In aplastic anemia, the bone marrow stops producing enough new blood cells, leading to shortages of red blood cells that carry oxygen to all parts of the body, white blood cells that fight infection and platelets that make clotting possible.

Fatigue and a higher risk of infection and uncontrolled bleeding are among the problems Joseph faces while afflicted with the rare disease. The exact cause of aplastic anemia is unknown, although it has been linked to exposure to radiation and to chemicals such as benzene. It is also believed that some cases are inherited and that others are due to viral infection.

Thanks to fundraising efforts by the Oncology Interest Group, and Dreams Come True, Joseph is living a dream this football season. The Florida State fan and his mother received season tickets to FSU football games and will get a chance to meet Seminoles coach Bobby Bowden and quarterback Drew Weatherford. 

Joseph will eat dinner with Weatherford and the rest of the FSU team the evening before FSU plays Rice on Sept. 24 in Tallahassee. He also will be invited to stand on the field during pre-game activities. This Saturday he will attend a party in the College of Medicine atrium from 4-5 p.m. with members of the Oncology Interest Group before FSU plays Clemson. Students and faculty are invited to attend.

Biking for health care

Mason Shamis will graduate from medical school in May and expects to begin a residency position soon thereafter. As hectic as his life will be at that point, he didn’t hesitate to get involved with the 2007 Ride for World Health.

Shamis not only will raise funds and participate in the 3,700-mile bike ride from San Francisco to Washington, D.C., during April and May, but he is acting as the event’s chief operating officer.

For more about his major undertaking, along with news involving other students and events at the College of Medicine, please take a look at Around the College.

The Ride for World Health promotes health awareness and education in international and national health issues as part of planned lectures at major medical centers and community health clinics along the route to Washington.

Like other riders, Shamis is committed to raising a minimum of $2,500, but he hopes to raise much more as part of an attempt to surpass last year’s ride, which raised more than $130,000.

In June of 2004, Shamis and Class of 2007 member Courtney Nall cycled 1,378 miles from Jacksonville to New York City to raise more than $3,500 for FSUCares.

For more information on the ride and opportunities to contribute, go to hhtp://www.rideforworldhealth.org

Georgia on my mind

Third-year students Randa Perkins, Amy Reimer and Liberty Taylor are assigned to the Tallahassee regional campus for their final two years of medical school.

But they’ll be spending the majority of their time at Archbold Memorial Hospital in Thomasville, Ga., and at area medical offices.
Archbold Memorial Hospital became a College of Medicine affiliate in the fall of 2005 and will help arrange for physicians to provide students with clinical training in family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, surgery, obstetrics/gynecology, geriatrics, psychiatry and emergency medicine, along with other fourth-year electives.

Elected to serve

Second-year student Richard Rodriguez has been elected vice-chair of the Florida Medical Association’s Medical Student Section for 2006-07. … The Class of 2009 elected officers for the current school year: Corinne Brann (president), Lauren Walker (vice-president), Erin Mariano (secretary), Becky McGilligan (treasurer), Eric Mervis (social chair), Kendra Buscetta (historian), Jennifer Walker (hospitality chair), Mark Gallagher and Alison Schmeck (curriculum co-chairs), Joshua Dietzer (library/IT chair) and Rees Porta (intramural chair). … Elected officers for the Class of 2010 are: Glenn Hoots (president), Anthony Sochet (vice-president), Jamie Doster (secretary), Leroy “Cordero” Floyd (treasurer), Shoshana Hacker and Katrina Hilder (historian co-chairs), Steffanie Swanson (hospitality chair), William Long and Nora Pepper (social co-chairs), Fernando Porter (curriculum chair), Nahar Ganju (library/IT chair) and Justin Ruoss and Jennifer Stahl (intramural co-chairs).

Raising awareness

Second-year students Kimberly Thornton and Angelica Soberon recently attended the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation national conference in Washington, D.C., where they met the organization’s founder, Nancy Goodman Brinker, the surviving sister of Susan Komen.