Bone Marrow Donor Update

January 14th, 2011

If you are a regular reader of my website you know that one of my biggest life list goals that I completed was being a bone marrow donor.

A few months ago I received a card from the lady I had donated to.  Because of privacy rules, they couldn't give me the real card, and it was whited out with her information.  I remember I was having a really bad day, and when I opened the card I just bursted into tears.  Here was this stranger calling me an angel.  Me?  Really?

Then last month, I was having another real rough day at work cause we just had two kids pass away back to back.  That day I was approached by the educator asking if I could speak in our BMT (Bone Marrow Transplant) meeting about updates on our new computer system that I am part of helping implement.  I was caught off guard, and told her that I would be extremely busy during that hour and I would try my best.  The director even went up to me asking if I would go to the meeting..."Wow"  I thought..."Pressures on...I need to make it to this meeting."   So I run and give some chemo, and then run to the other end of the unit to go to the meeting.  I go in, and they stop the person lecturing, and say, "We actually didn't need you to speak about the computer system at all...we wanted to surprise you and your BMT colleagues wanted to thank you for being a Bone Marrow Donor!"

I was in SHOCK!  They handed me a necklace and a card filled with kind words! 

I wore the necklace during the first transplant I did (meaning giving the cells to the patient) since receiving it, and I have decided that each transplant I will wear this necklace, and I will tell each patient the story of how I got it. 

Then today I received a call from the bone marrow donor center that the lady I donated to signed the privacy release forms (I had signed it a few months ago).  I will get her contact info, and she will get mine!  It really is all coming full circle....