Washington, D.C

Following transformative experience, Palmer woman advocates for donor rights in Washington, D.C.

Published

4 months ago

February 24, 2024

Following transformative experience, Palmer woman advocates for donor rights in Washington, D.C.

PALMER, Alaska (KTUU) – A Palmer woman is heading to the nation’s capitol next week to lobby legislators for donor registration funding and advocate for a bill aimed at protecting bone marrow and blood cell donors’ rights to job security.

Sandra Hinton, an administrator for Knik Charter School in Wasilla, registered as a bone marrow donor sometime in the late 2000s through the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP). She can’t recall exactly what prompted her to register, only that it felt like something she needed to do.

“I got online and looked at it and I thought, ‘Well that’s easy, who wouldn’t want to do this for somebody?’ and so I signed up,” Hinton recalled.

She thought a lot about donating after she first registered, but when her phone didn’t ring for nearly a decade the idea left her mind.

“I actually forgot about it,” Hinton admitted. “And when I actually got the call, text, my phone blew up and I called back and I thought it was a joke.”

But it wasn’t a joke, Hinton was a 100% match with a young Florida man named Jonathan who had been diagnosed with leukemia. She traveled to Kansas City and underwent surgery. She never met Jonathan during this process — to her, he was a perfect stranger.

According to Hinton, donors can reach out to recipients after a one-year waiting period following the donation. After this time, donors can send recipients their contact information but it’s ultimately up to the recipients if they want to respond.

Jonathan responded.

“He came up [to Alaska] with his brother and his mom and dad, and we met in Denali,” Hinton said. “It was beautiful. It was the most amazing day of my life.”

Hinton said the meeting was an emotional one, as she and her husband embraced Jonathan and cried. She felt the same love for Jonathan that she would her own son.

Sandra Hinton and her husband embrace the recipient of her bone marrow donation after meeting for the first time in Denali.(Sandra Hinton (NMDP))

Because of her donation, Jonathan lived for another 18 months. Hinton said her beloved match died after contracting an infection in his port. It was a year and a half that Hinton said Jonathan didn’t take for granted — traveling to Spain to watch his favorite soccer team, ringing in a new year under the Eiffel Tower and visiting Alaska to meet the woman who saved his life.

“He got a lot of life in that 18 months,” Hinton said. “I wish it could be forever. I wish it could.”

Jonathan’s death didn’t take anything away from Hinton’s experience as a donor. She said she would do it again in a heartbeat if asked.

Since the donation Hinton has become an advocacy volunteer for NMDP, running drives locally to drum up donor registration numbers and educate the public on bone marrow and blood stem cell research. She will remain active on the registry list until she reaches the age limit of 61 years old.

While in Washington, D.C., Hinton and her team will meet with lawmakers to ask for their support in passing H.R. 3024, a bill titled the “Life Saving Leave Act” that would amend the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to permit additional leave time for donors.

“This would ensure that somebody donating would have at least 40 hours that they would be able to take leave and not lose their job,” Hinton said.

According to research conducted by NMDP, approximately half of donors turn down the opportunity to donate due to the fear they will lose their jobs if they take off work.

Hinton and her team will also ask Congress for a $2 million funding increase for the C.W. Bill Young Transplantation Program to focus on donor recruitment efforts.

“There’s just so much to it and so many people need it,” Hinton said. “I can’t stop, you know, advocating for that, for helping people.”

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Washington, D.C

Best 5 day trips near Washington D.C.

Published

2 hours ago

June 30, 2024

Press Room

Not everyone can afford a week-long vacation in a distant paradise. For many of us, time and budget constraints make such a getaway seem like a distant dream, especially if you’re planning a family trip. The cost of vacations, from travel to accommodation and meals, can quickly spiral out of control. But fear not, there’s a more budget-friendly way to escape the daily grind, even if it’s just for a day.

Day trips are great because they are a fraction of the price of a vacation, and you get to sleep in your bed once the activities for the day have ended. There is a chance you’ll eat out once or twice and possibly even pick up a couple of souvenirs, but it won’t wreck your budget like a fancy vacation. In Washington, D.C., the hustle and bustle can get old quickly, and many people need to recharge away from so much ruckus. Why not take a lovely short break to one of these 10 day trip locations?

Harper’s Ferry is a beautiful small town in northern West Virginia, near Washington, D.C., Witnessing the Shenandoah and Potamac rivers gracefully merging among the moss-covered rocks and boulders in the rivers. The small town is exactly that: a small town. However, this small town has a fantastic vibe that’s hard to pass up. There’s even a hostel in the neighborhood if you need to stay a little longer for dirt cheap. Harper’s Ferry National Park is gorgeous, and it is a Civil War Museum and Fort that once belonged to John Brown. The Appalachian Trail meanders its way through the wilderness. Start at the Visitor’s Center, as directed by a traveler on TripAdvisor, and work your way down the main street, where you will find lots of unique shops and other small oddities. You will not want to miss this wonderful town.

Located just west of Luray, Virginia, lies Luray Caverns. Exploring the largest and most popular caverns in the eastern U.S. will fill you with a sense of awe as you wind through the intricate cave system. Some of the ceilings are an incredible 10 stories high, and some of the rooms are enormous, considering this is all taking place under your feet, underground. The cave is ready for visitors with its well-lit walkways and fantastic rock formations.

Maryland’s beautiful capital, Annapolis, is just a hop and a skip away from the always intense and busy Washington D.C.; in fact, you can be relaxing in Annapolis after a short 45-minute drive. Coined “a museum without walls,” Annapolis is dressed in four centuries of architecture. It’s also known for its nautical heritage, which involves sailboat racing on Wednesday nights. The quaint town is adorable and boasts many unique and wonderful shops along the main street through town. If you wish to add a splash of nature to your escape from D.C., check out the small, eight-acre Annapolis park.

The Shenandoah mountains are magnificent, and honestly, that term is not enough to describe the Shenandoah. The Shenandoah National Park feels like you’ve traveled to a different country entirely. It is hard to imagine this wild place existing so close to the capital of the U.S. This is an excellent place for a day trip if you are lucky enough to be close enough for such. There is much to see and more to experience, so while a day trip is lovely, spending a week in the Shenandoah mountains and experiencing the phenomenal night sky belongs on all bucket lists. For a quick day trip, Skyline Drive, which runs through the most scenic areas of the park, offers frequent pull-offs for photos without wrecks.

Maryland is no stranger to fabulous parks, and Rocks State Park is on the list. The 855-acre park is a nice escape from the nearby busy cities. Within Rocks State Park, visitors will find a rocky landscape in the heart of the wilderness. Bring your lunch to enjoy at one of the picnic areas, then go on a 3.5-mile hike through the park. Once you become sweat-drenched with tired legs from navigating the boulders, take a well-needed and quite fabulous break tubing or kayaking down Deer Creek.

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Washington, D.C

Man dies after Southeast DC shooting

Published

9 hours ago

June 29, 2024

Press Room

WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) said a man died after a shooting in Southeast D.C.

Police said that at about 4:10 p.m., they were dispatched to the 2700 block of Shipley Terrace for a shooting investigation.

Once at the scene, officers found a man who had been shot. He was unconscious and not breathing.

He died at the scene.

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Washington, D.C

Capitals take winger Terik Parascak with 17th pick in NHL draft

Published

16 hours ago

June 29, 2024

Press Room

Capitals take winger Terik Parascak with 17th pick in NHL draft

LAS VEGAS — Terik Parascak picked up a standout nickname right off the bat in his first season with the Prince George Cougars.

The 18-year-old winger, chosen by the Washington Capitals with the No. 17 pick in the NHL draft Friday, burst onto the scene with eight goals in his first four games for the Cougars — including two in his first game and four in the third. His hot start prompted Prince George play-by-play broadcaster Cole Waldie to coin him “the super rookie,” and Parascak proved Waldie right.

With 43 goals and 62 assists in 68 games, Parascak led all rookies in the Western Hockey League in scoring and was second on Prince George in goals. Zac Funk, whom Washington signed as an undrafted free agent in April, led the team with 67 goals.

“I kind of went on a little bit of a tear at the start and was hot, and I think they started calling me that after that broadcast,” Parascak said. “It just caught on. Everybody calls me that now. … Definitely got a little bit old after a while. I don’t love the attention that much like that, but obviously super cool to have a nickname like that.”

Macklin Celebrini went first overall to the San Jose Sharks. Celebrini, who turned 18 just two weeks before the draft, won the Hobey Baker award as the top player in college hockey — and the youngest — with a 64-point season in 38 games at Boston University.

About 90 minutes later, Parascak heard his name called. His 105-point season was something of a revelation. As a 16-year-old, he was sent back to the Edge School for another year of prep hockey rather than joining the WHL full time as most high-end prospects do at 16. Parascak got a taste of the WHL that season, playing five games scattered throughout the campaign, but didn’t record a point in those four games. At Edge, he averaged more than a goal per game, with 32 goals and 34 assists in just 30 games.

“Really intelligent player. Really, really smart player,” said Washington assistant general manager Ross Mahoney, who oversees amateur scouting. “Sees the ice really well. Has a really good touch around the net. … Hard-working kid. Really like the hands and the hockey sense.”

Looking back now, still processing everything that has happened in the past 12 months, Parascak believes he wouldn’t have become a first-round pick without that extra year of prep hockey.

“Understanding what it takes to jump to a junior level like that,” Parascak said of his leap this season. “I got a little taste for it the year before and just kind of took that information and took it into that last year there. … I wasn’t in a position where I would get enough ice time to really develop my skills and didn’t want to really kind of ruin my development that way. Got them to send me back and build tons of confidence, so I was able to come into this season and do what I did.”

Parascak was projected to go later in the first round or even early in the second in most mock drafts, making his selection at No. 17 potentially a bit of a reach, but the lack of consensus in this draft class opened the possibility of teams taking swings on players for whom they had a particular affinity.

When Parascak heard his name called by General Manager Brian MacLellan, the look of surprise on his face was evident across the enormous screen at the Sphere.

“Just the whole experience of everything, I didn’t really know what to expect,” Parascak said, noting that he had several meetings with the Capitals ahead of the draft. “It was all kind of, just play everything by ear. That was my whole year, just go with the flow of everything. I was definitely surprised but couldn’t be more excited.”

Parascak’s awareness of the game is perhaps his biggest strength, according to scouting reports, which highlight his off-puck positioning and understanding of how to put himself — or his linemates — in positions to score. Whether he’s shooting the puck himself or setting up a teammate, Parascak seems to have a keen grasp of where the scoring areas are, and how to get there.

“Parascak’s off-puck timing and spatial awareness have defined his game, as he regularly gets into the right spots at the right time to bang home rebounds, tap in backdoor passes or get out in transition to give his D a stretch option on outlets (without really cheating for it),” wrote the Athletic’s Scott Wheeler, who had Parascak as the 20th-ranked draft prospect. “He anticipates play offensively and defensively at a very high level, knows how to get open and play to his linemates’ strengths, has a great wrister and one-touch shot from midrange, always goes to the net when the play funnels there instead of hanging out wide, and has skill around the net and in tight to his body when challenged by defenders.”

The next step of Parascak’s development will be to add muscle to his 6-foot, 179-pound frame, which he believes will help improve his skating and give him another gear to reach.

And after taking a slightly unconventional route to being a first-round pick, Parascak views that route as additional motivation to reach the NHL.

“Everything I’ve been through so far has been a learning experience,” Parascak said. “Definitely been cut from quite a few teams growing up and taken that all as a learning experience. That’s kind of shaped me into the person and player I am. Nothing’s ever going to be given to you. You have to earn everything. Everything happens for a reason. Just taking all those things and being able to face adversity like that and hopefully get to where I want to be one day.”

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