A Perfect Match: Girl, Donor Meet a Year Later

Although pen pals for the last year, Kelsea Arnold and Ed Szelest did not know each other’s name.

But this was no ordinary correspondence.

One year ago, 7-year-old Kelsea, who has leukemia, began writing letters to Szelest, the man who saved her life by donating his bone marrow for her transplant operation.

Because of donation regulations, they were prohibited from knowing each other’s identity, so they addressed each other as “Littlest Angel” and “Precious Angel”--Kelsea being “Littlest” and Szelest “Precious.”

On Thursday, the pen pals met for the first time, and the Children’s Hospital of Orange County staff turned the occasion into a celebration. Kelsea’s and Szelest’s emotional meeting was less than private as nearly 100 people attended--friends, relatives and staff at the hospital where Kelsea had her operation.

When Szelest, 46, and his wife, Karen, appeared, the first question out of Kelsea’s mouth was about Chinese food.

“Do you like Chinese food?” asked Kelsea, who was wearing a face mask to protect her against airborne contaminants.

“Yes,” answered Szelest.

“I thought so,” said Kelsea, a former foe of Chinese food and broccoli. “Because ever since I got my bone marrow transplant, I have been liking Chinese food a lot.”

Diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia at the age of 4, Kelsea underwent her first bone marrow operation two years ago but relapsed.

In a stroke of good fortune, Szelest was identified as a positive match for Kelsea early in 1995.

According to Kelsea’s doctor, Mitchell Cairo, she had a 50% chance of finding an unrelated donor with the same DNA makeup.

After the transplant operation, hundreds of letters were exchanged by the two families, who formed a deep friendship.

“I am elated,” said an emotional Katie Arnold, Kelsea’s mother. “I am so glad we finally put a face on this angel. I feel somehow like I have known them for years. It was very easy to communicate with them.”

The Szelests arrived Thursday afternoon from New Jersey and, much to their surprise, were greeted at the airport by TV news crews.

“This is the most significant thing I have ever done in my life,” said Ed Szelest, a manager for Mack Trucks in Allentown, Pa.

The Szelests will spend the weekend at the Arnold home in Mission Viejo but intend to continue visiting with Kelsea, who is staying at the hospital for a few more days.

Although Kelsea’s cancer is in remission, she is suffering from a side effect called graft-versus-host disease, which causes her body to reject foreign blood cells. The disease could have serious implications because she is given medication to suppress her immune system, making her susceptible to infections. The disease also attacks her skin, making it deep pink, irritated, itchy and sore to the touch.

Her skin is so sensitive that a slight scratch or scrape of her knee causes Kelsea to cry out in pain. At one point, after accidentally rubbing her knee against the carpet and tired of the fluffy pink taffeta dress and tights she wore for the occasion, Kelsea begged her mother to go home.

But the celebration continued, with cake and refreshments and gifts from Kelsea’s elementary school friends. Her Brownie troop showed up with dozens of roses and good wishes for their friend.

The hospital also honored John Mash, 5, who was the first patient in Southern California to receive an unrelated umbilical cord blood transplant one year ago. In addition, cancer patient Michelle Carew, daughter of former California Angels first baseman Rod Carew, attended the event.

Kelsea’s father, Dave Arnold, hopes to raise $1.8 million to establish a cord blood bank and research center at Children’s Hospital.

“A cord donation does not require a perfect match,” said Arnold, 39. “This is the hope for the future.”

For donation information, call (714) 532-8692.