Welcome to the Ralston Creek Review home page.

My name is Louis Weltzer.  In 2011, my brother Lonny was diagnosed with a rare bone marrow disorder known as myelofibrosis.  The only possible cure for the condition is a bone marrow or stem cell transplant.  I was a very good match and donated the stem cells for that transplant.  Before the procedure was done, I searched online for information about what I should expect; but found very little.  In order to assist others who may serve as stem cell donors, I decided to write about my experience.  Those posts are under the category “STEM CELL DONOR” here:  https://ralstoncreekreview.com/

The transplant was initially successful, but Lonny’s body continued to produce the defective cells – slowly at first, and then in overwhelming numbers.  He passed away a little over a year after the transplant was performed.  I believe that the transplant did extend his life by several months, and am glad that he was able to spend that time with his wonderful family.  I wish that it could have given him more time.

I have maintained this website because I still believe that the record of my experience as a donor may prove helpful to others.

More recently, I began composing articles of a different nature.  In conjunction with my 65th birthday, I decided to write about some aspect of my life for 65 consecutive days.  This is not done because I feel my life is more exciting or meaningful than most other lives, but because my personal experience in some area might prove interesting or inspirational to someone else.  Those posts are found under the category “65 YEARS IN 65 DAYS” here:  https://ralstoncreekreview.com//

A writer named Amy Putkonen invited me to participate in a project commenting on
one chapter of the Tao Te Ching each week.  Those posts are found under the category “TAO TE CHING” here:  https://ralstoncreekreview.com/

A few posts that do not fit into any of those categories are posted as “RANDOM THOUGHTS” here:  https://ralstoncreekreview.com/