Libertyville High plans bone-marrow drive to help ailing secretary

Libertyville High School staffers and students are rallying around an employee being treated for leukemia. Trudy Kulefsky, a secretary at the school, is undergoing chemotherapy and is in need of a bone-marrow transplant.

To show its support, the school community will host a bone-marrow drive next month. The event is scheduled for June 2 and will run from 1 to 7 p.m. at the school, 708 W. Park Ave.

The registration drive won't necessarily help Kulefsky, because exact genetic matches are needed. But someone could be matched with another needy patient, which will make the effort worthwhile, said Libertyville High Assistant Principal Eric Maroscher, who is Kulefsky's boss.

"You can save somebody's life," Maroscher said.

Kulefsky, of Grayslake, has worked at the school since 1990. She learned she had leukemia, a potentially deadly cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase in blood cells, after participating in the Libertyville-Vernon Hills Area High School District 128's annual wellness screening in mid-March.

Within a few weeks, Kulefsky was hospitalized and undergoing chemotherapy to fight the disease, District 128 officials said. She's on medical leave now, Maroscher said.

Kulefsky's co-workers were shocked by the diagnosis, especially because she appeared healthy, exercises and eats right, Maroscher said.

"Nobody could believe it," he said. "It just took your breath away."

School nurse Cam Traut thought of organizing the drive in Kulefsky's honor. The event will be staged by DKMS, an international nonprofit group that is the world's largest bone-marrow donor center. People who register will be listed on a registry and can be matched with anyone needing a transplant.

Registering as a potential bone-marrow donor is a painless procedure that takes about 10 or 15 minutes and simply requires some paperwork and a cheek swab, said Amanda Nable, a donor recruitment coordinator with DKMS.

Donors must be between the ages of 18 and 55 and in good general health.

For more information about registering as a bone marrow donor, visit dkmsamericas.org.