When Remi was two weeks old, I received a phone call. And an email. Jeff got a phone call. My mom got a phone call and my friend Angie got a phone call. Every phone call was from the same person at Be The Match trying to locate me. It was urgent I get in touch with them as soon as possible. I had been potentially matched with a new baby who needed a life saving transplant. I was shaking as I called the lady back. I tried not to think too much about it as I knew there was a high likelihood that they were testing others for this baby as well. I was asked if I was still willing to donate and if they could do further testing to see if I would be a good match for this baby. The only answer was yes. After a long phone call about my health history and a consent form signed, I was sent to a lab for further testing. At that point, I was told it could be up to two months, but no longer, for them to call me back and let me know the results.
The day after Christmas, I received another phone call. I was a perfect match to this baby. There are no words to describe how I felt. Humbled. In awe. Heartbroken for this family. I could not and still cannot believe that I am on this side of things. Almost exactly two years ago, we were preparing our own child for a bone marrow transplant. I know firsthand what goes on as a parent. I know what the child goes through. We were beyond lucky that Cole was a perfect match for Jake. But what if he wasn't? There is only a 25 percent chance for a sibling match anyway. Would his 'perfect match' have been in that computer system? Would his transplant have worked as well as it has? We will never know. I never want to know. But, the more people that are swabbed, the better the chances are of someone else surviving these awful diseases. Babies. Children. Moms and Dads. A new baby whose life is on the line. I look at my baby girl and cannot imagine having to go through a transplant with her. And I have been there, watching my own little boy, I still cannot imagine. Listening to someone tell me I was a match to this child was not something I ever expected to hear. The odds of it ever happening are so slim. I feel so much gratitude and in debt to so many people that helped us while going through this process, maybe I can give back in some small way to this family.
After that phone call, things became a whirlwind. Time is not on someone's side who needs a transplant and things proceeded very quickly. I signed many more consent forms. I had another long phone call going over the process and the risks and what would take place. The next week, I was scheduled for an EKG and a chest x-ray along with numerous labs. Two days later, I met with an oncologist for an exam. They did another CBC that day. Unfortunately, I was starting to get a cold. My blood counts were off. I had a low WBC and I was anemic. I was put on iron pills and told to come back in ten days to see if my blood work had improved. I was not thrilled. I knew we were on a time crunch and I was so frustrated worrying about this sweet baby. But, ten days later and another CBC, we were given the green light and a date to go ahead and proceed with the transplant.
The day of the transplant we were told to be in the hospital at 6:00 in the morning. As my husband and I drove to the hospital, we could not help talking and thinking about the family that was going to be receiving the bone marrow. Both parties are given very little information about each other. We know the diagnoses, age, and if he is a boy or girl. Nothing else. You cannot help but sit and wonder things about this sweet babies family. And his sweet parents. What they are going through. Putting their babies life in the hands of someone else. I pray every second that this transplant works for him. It is so hard not to know.
We arrived at the hospital and checked into registration. We had an entourage of people to take us up to the surgical unit. I changed and was hooked up to fluids and had about twelve more vials of blood drawn. The last thing I remember is being told my vision was going to go a little blurry. Jeff told me the surgery lasted about an hour and 45 minutes. They take the marrow out of your hip bones in your back. Only a teaspoon of marrow can be drawn at a time because you start to get blood return. I was poked fifty times on each side. I was a little nervous because we had been told by pretty much everyone that a bone marrow harvest is much harder on adults than it is children. Cole was one tough little cookie. He was jumping on the trampoline an hour after we got home from the hospital. And in all honesty, the recovery, for me, was not nearly as hard as we had anticipated it being on. The worst part was the nausea and the headache I got, which was most likely caused from the anestecia. I threw up all afternoon and had a horrible migraine. It was awful. Next time I will know to get zofran before I leave!! My back really was fine. It felt just a little bruised when I would bend down or pick up something heavy. My left side is still a little sore, but not as painful as we were told it would be.
I cannot describe to you how amazing this experience has been. We feel so blessed that we have been able to have the opportunity to do this for someone's child. We have loved seeing this side of it. Please pray for this baby. The more prayers, the better.
Which brings me to my point and the reason I am sharing this story. There are not nearly enough people in the registry. I have heard of patients that do not have one match. Not one. And what if there are no other options for them? What if YOU are the person that could save them? Please. Please sign up. It is a cheek swab. It costs you nothing. They mail you the kit. You mail it back. It will not even cost you a stamp. It is a prepaid envelope. Please let others know how important it is to get on the registry. There is a lack of awareness. We had no idea the importance of it until we were thrown into the middle of the cancer world. I know most people do not have any idea how important, or easy, it is either. Share this page. The blessings that have come from this have been overwhelming. We are so beyond grateful for the chance to do this.
Please visit bethematch.org to sign up to be a donor.
