A southside family with many supporters in Fayette County has arrived home for Christmas, beating the odds that said David Staats' leukemia treatment would keep him in Seattle until January.

Staats, 46, received a bone marrow transplant last fall from his brother, Daniel Staats of Chatsworth, at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle. David's wife, Deborah, who works for Fayetteville pediatrician Dr. John Potts, stayed with him in Seattle for the last four months. Their 14-year-old daughter Tiffany also went to Seattle and attended school there.

Just before their departure from Seattle, says Deborah Staats, David had to be hospitalized again for a suspected blood clot in his lung. They found no clot, and a thorough round of tests "for everything" cleared him to return to Georgia. She says the last bone marrow aspiration showed no signs of leukemia.

"They told me before the transplant that it would be after Christmas before I could come home," David says, "but I knew all along I would be home for Christmas."

Deborah says they surprised daughter Kristi, a senior at Bible Baptist Christian School, by picking her up from school last Thursday. Daughter Trina also stayed in the area with relatives while the Staats were in Seattle.

A fund started by friends in Fayette was able to pay for the Staats' lodging in Seattle but is at a low point, says family friend Betty Goza. Donations may be sent to the Staats fund at First Citizens Bank, P.O. Box 219, Fayetteville 30214, attention Susan Stallings.