[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Page 22652]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   TRIBUTE TO BRAYDIN AND TORIN SONES

 Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, I wish today to recognize the noble 
efforts of both the Sones family and the Dover Air Force Base community 
for their support of Karina Sones in her battle against cancer. Karina 
was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia when she was 4 years old. 
Although the doctors thought they had beaten the cancer after a round 
of chemotherapy in 2004, she unfortunately relapsed in 2006. I wish to 
commemorate the sterling efforts of her two younger brothers, her 
parents, and the men and women of Dover Air Force Base for encouraging 
and supporting Karina through this difficult time. Thankfully, she is 
now on the path to recovery.
  When Karina relapsed, her parents were informed that a bone marrow 
transplant was her only option. Despite there being approximately 20 
million bone marrow donations on record, there were no matches on the 
National Marrow Donor database for Karina. Her parents, however, 
remained optimistic that a solution would be found. In what can only be 
described as good fortune, Karina was lucky enough to be the recipient 
of an anonymous donation of umbilical cord stem cells that allowed her 
to have a second chance at life. Karina bravely endured radiation and 
50 days of isolation before she could receive the transplant. 
Afterwards, the whole family had to work together to prevent her from 
getting sick. Although, Karina still suffers from graft-vs-host disease 
which has caused her skin to be inflamed, she remains brave and upbeat. 
She insists that she would like to go to Disneyland with her mother and 
be Cinderella.
  Her two younger brothers, Braydin, age 10, and Torin, age 7, 
admirably refuse to be helpless as their sister battles leukemia. 
Karina's struggle inspired them to want to help other kids with cancer 
and to further support research, so they began collecting golf balls 
that had landed in their backyard and selling them on to golfers. Their 
goal was to collect $500, and they have already exceeded that amount. 
They will donate all the money to the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for 
Children where Karina still receives treatment.
  This story is a true example of the Air Force, the Dover community, 
and the Sones family all coming together to unite against a common 
adversary. The city of Dover and the Dover Air Force Base are known for 
their tight-knit relationship which is certainly demonstrated by the 
Dover community having won the Abeliene trophy twice--the trophy 
designated for the base with the most supportive community--and this 
story only provides further evidence for that statement.
  I believe that it is a mark of Karina's character and impressive 
bravery that she has persevered through all of her medical setbacks. To 
this day, Karina refuses to rest and is working on spreading awareness 
about becoming a bone marrow donor because she wants other children to 
have the same chance at life that she had. Most children, after 
spending so much time in hospitals, would wish to stay away from them, 
but Karina is not most children. She wants to become a cardiologist 
when she grows up.
  Karina's brave story is one that we do not hear often. I wish to 
honor not just her courage but also the bravery and perseverance of her 
brothers and her parents and to wish them continued blessings in the 
future. I also want to emphasize the good work and support that Dover 
Air Force Base has offered the Sones family during such a trying and 
difficult time.

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