was successfully added to your cart.

A Donor’s Story

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn

By: M. R. Sonntag

Graham Greene wrote, “There is always one moment in childhood when a door opens and lets the future in.”  That moment, for me, came when I was ten years old and in fourth grade at a local Catholic school. On that particular day, we had a substitute teacher.

Mrs. O’Reilly was a wonderful woman and a great teacher.  I liked her more than our regular teacher. In religion class she told the story of the first bone marrow procedure and how a stranger saved a young girl’s life.  That is how I learned what bone marrow is. I was so touched by the story I said if I could ever do such a thing for someone else, I would. I never forgot the promise I made to myself, and simply put it in the back recesses of my mind as I went on with the day-to-day activities of life. The years passed, until sadly, in 1993, my mother was diagnosed with cancer. Her death less than six months later was the primary reason I joined the Registry.

Nine years later, in 2002, I received a call saying I was an initial match for a 28-year old with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. It was both wonderful and somewhat daunting. Blood samples were taken at my local hospital for testing.  I was told it could take up to three months to find out if I were the match selected. On Memorial Day weekend, I was told I was The match! At that time, I also learned that the preferred method of stem cell/bone marrow collection (based on the patient’s needs) was surgery. I did research on the two ways of donating marrow and the centers that perform donations. I also realized that the year I was in fourth grade was also the year my marrow recipient was born!

Next, the New England Marrow Donor Program (Be The Match) set up an appointment with the facility I had chosen for donation for me to have a full physical.  An appointment was also arranged at a local hospital for me to “bank” a pint of blood for myself for after surgery. I also discussed any concerns and questions I had with my primary care physician.  All along the way, the Be The Match people answered my questions and checked to ensure I was still ready to go through with the surgery. Their website (bethematch.org) is a fountain of information for patients and donors alike, and I found it to be very helpful. The initial surgery date was my Mom’s birthday, which I took as another positive sign that this whole process was meant to be.  However, the surgery, though, was postponed a week because of the patient’s health.

On July 18, 2002, I went with my sister Peg and my friend Christine as support, to UMass Memorial in Worcester, Massachusetts, for the surgery. I was met by a wonderful Be The Match/National Bone Marrow Donor Program/Red Cross liaison.  If you are wondering about the surgery, I can say it is not as bad as you might think. I was told that in two days I would feel much better, and I did. I did feel quite tired for two days. The hospital kept me overnight as a precaution because that was their policy.  All the nurses and doctors were extremely professional and very nice. I was told I may have some soreness, as if I had been ice skating, fell, and landed on my tailbone. For me, that’s exactly how it was. Two days later, I was back to my usual routine. Interestingly, about a year later, I came up as a preliminary match for another patient in need.  However, a closer match was found.

Had I not paid attention in class when I had a substitute teacher in fourth grade, had my Mom not died of cancer, my own story would have been much different. The beginnings of a specific plan for marrow donation were set in motion with Mrs. O’Reilly’s story that day.  How blessed I am that the right door opened and my future was let in.

More to explore

Angela’s Answer to Remission: A CAR T-Cell  Therapy Success Story

By Angela Keith

In September of 2019, I was diagnosed with Appendix Cancer, which I have been told is very rare. So, at my six-month checkup in June 2021, I received the news through a medical portal that I had either leukemia or lymphoma. This was not the best way to find out you have cancer. I contacted my local oncologist to obtain additional information. The nurse then told me on the phone that they were meaning to call me about my PET scan results.

Read More »

Christine Musso: Four Time Cancer Fighter and Teacher of Survivor Empowerment 

By: Jennifer Gillette, LMSW of nbmtLINK

I had the pleasure of chatting with Christine one afternoon after she reached out to us sharing a picture of her sister (BMT donor), daughter and herself sporting their GVHD awareness bracelets with pride. I was intrigued and wanted to learn more about her story as Christine shared that she was a 17-year survivor post-transplant. I am so glad we talked further as I know anyone on this journey would be inspired by her.

Read More »

Nuances of a New Normal (7 of 7)

By David Weinstein

David Weinstein shares his heart, grit, soul and bone marrow transplant journey with us in this 7-part series. Each blog post will inspire you regardless of where you are on your journey. So sit back and feel the sun on YOUR face as you soak up this very special series.

Read More »