The call
Two days before my birthday last May I was presented with the opportunity to donate bone marrow to save someone with blood cancer.
The call was unexpected. I had registered to be a donor several years ago, and the call came at a very difficult time of my life when I was praying for hope, new appreciation for life, and family.
I would be giving a part of me to someone unknown, another human being on this planet, fighting for her life. I was the one person in this world compatible for a bone marrow transplant… I was the match and I said, ‘yes.’
Looking back on it now it was an answer to both my prayer and that of the recipient. The gift inside of me was for her and what greater gift to receive on my birthday than to be called to save a life.
It all started 20 years ago when I registered to be a donor, inspired by a little boy so full of spunk with one of the most unforgettable smiles. My cousin joined the angels in heaven after his own battle with cancer. I realized that in His time, not mine, God called on me.
The weeks after the call to donate were filled with a multitude of questions, lab tests, sharing, and anticipation. How does bone marrow donation work? Why now after so long? Who is my recipient? All these questions were answered, as appropriate, by my coordinator at Be The Match® to whom I owe a debt of gratitude. She and all the staff at Be The Match® and the hospitals were my angels; those that cared for me not only as the donor but as their patient. They were part of my donation journey and integral parts of a path to healing.
Donation Day
I woke up at peace ready for the day, trusting in God that the path He put me on, a path where Jesus leads, led me to that hospital and all would be OK. I underwent the Peripheral Blood Stem Cell (PBSC) donation process which is a way to harvest stem cells produced over a five day period. Stem cells are produced in bone marrow and the PBSC process is an alternative to bone marrow extraction. The procedure took a few hours and laying there contemplating and observing what was happening was surreal as I saw the first few drops of stem cells fall into the collection bag.
To know that those cells would be transplanted into my recipient to give her life created for me a physical connection with her. And to actually hold the bag after the donation was over and allow myself to sit with that moment filled me with emotions I was unprepared for. An overwhelming sense of gratitude, joy, and release came over me as I handed the bag over to the nurse before its trip to the awaiting recipient. It was my God moment, an instant in time where all I had lived, all I had prayed for, was now materialized by His grace.
I received news of the transplant the very next day. All I wanted was for a safe and successful transplant and for that everything that I as a donor and she as a recipient endured would come together as God intended it to be. My stems cells were now hers and they would begin to multiply and create new healthy blood.
As of today I know that the transplant worked and that she and I are well and I am thankful. In his divine glory God entrusted me with something so sacred, something beyond words, even beyond my own existence.
The Boat
I had the opportunity a few weeks after the donation to board a boat and meet other donors, Be The Match® staff/volunteers, and hear from a recipient. It helped me to understand everything I was going through and feeling because other donors were experiencing the same thing. I discovered a new community that I am now a part of, not only connected to each other as donors but to our recipients out there in the world. I recently experienced driving my own boat, my own life, and now my recipient can do the same and go wherever she wants to go to enjoy every new minute of life she has received.
A Life Continued
Sharing my story has helped me to understand the grandeur of what occurred and to realize that it has not ended and will forever be a part of my life and those around me. It continues to manifest itself in different ways as emotions untapped are released and the experience relived. The anticipation of one day meeting my recipient adds a new layer: that someday I can see her face and in her eyes see the miracle of life, the spark and glow that emanates from a chance of life again.
I am humbled, awestruck, and grateful for what God entrusted me with and I will continue to listen to His whisper for guidance and make it heard that I was called, and we are all called, to live a life a mercy.
I could not have done all of this without the support of family and friends, and especially my daughter Isabella who was diligently at my side throughout this entire process.
Even as I write this she is sitting at the table with me drawing and making me smile, continuing to share my story which is also hers. She would say that her dad donated stem cells to make someone feel better and now there is another member of her family that she hopes to meet one day. I pray for my recipient as one of my family. For health, strength, and love, that she may enjoy each day of a life restored.