‘It’s the best gift’: Blood drive honors Arlington Heights girl’s memory

A blood drive is not only keeping alive the memory of a 6-year-old Arlington Heights girl who fought leukemia, but also helping save the lives of others.

The gym at Our Lady of the Wayside School in Arlington Heights was filled with donors Sunday ready to contribute to the annual Emily Holum Memorial Blood Drive. The drive is held in honor of Emily, who died in 2007, two years after she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia at age 4.

Robin Holum, Emily’s mother, said Sunday’s crowd was on pace to beat the record 121 donations from 2020.

Emily’s father, Tom Holum, said Emily was in remission when she died of a fungal infection. During the two years following her diagnosis, she would receive as many as five transfusions some days, he said.

“Each donation gave us an extra day with Emmy and ultimately an extra two years,” he said.

Her parents organized the annual blood drive to help others in the way donors helped Emily, Tom said.

Among those at Sunday’s event was Emily’s sister, Nicole Holum, 28, who is pursuing a graduate degree in nursing at DePaul University. She said her sister and the nurses who cared for her inspired her career choice.

“(Emily) was super brave, super strong, super funny,” she said. “She’s definitely what gave us all of our bravery and courage and strength to do what we’re doing today. She is why I am doing what I’m doing.”

“It’s amazing,” Our Lady of the Wayside Pastor Arthur Marat, whose father died from leukemia, said of the effort. “It’s the best gift, what we give to people to save their life.”

Phillip Sanfratello, donor recruitment manager of Vitalant Blood Donation, said that for every unit of blood that is donated, three lives can potentially be saved.

But Sanfratello added that donations can go fast.

“Some patients may only need a couple of units of blood. There are some patients, like liver patients, who could use up to 90 units in one treatment,” he said.