A Match! Maybe ...

The Be the Match drive at my church in Ridgefield was 12 weeks ago tomorrow - this summer has gone by way too fast!  So much preparation went into the drive, from working with the church starting in early February to recruiting volunteers and potential matches.  Though, I must admit, I have some of the best friends ever and it really wasn't all that difficult to get the people there to help out and sign up.  The drive was to honor my mom in her courageous battle with cancer - she is now 2 years post transplant - and to honor her donor Bruce, a man that she now speaks with on a regular basis.

If you recall, my Mom was supposed to be at the event but suffered a severe pulmonary event just a few weeks prior and the family was called to TN.  I know she missed seeing everyone but she needed the time to recuperate.  And (knock on wood) her health seems to be holding steady for the time being.  At the time, it just seemed to be too much to pull off - my emotions were all over the place.  I was wanting so much to be in TN with my mom & dad, but this drive was a commitment I promised to see through.

Let me tell you - I'm so glad I did!  I just found out the other day that one of the people who joined the Registry that day is a potential match for a 61 year old man!  I'm sure, though, in this individual's mind there is some fear and trepidation about what may be yet to come - it will be approximately up to 8 weeks after additional testing to see if there is a match and whether they will go forward.

What I can tell you is what the potential recipient's family may be feeling - an amazing sense of relief and gratitude to a person they have never met.  You see, when a patient reaches this point of needing a transplant, it usually means that there aren't many more options.  And this family and group of supporters is hoping against hope - or praying as in our case - that the testing shows that you can go forward with the transplant.

By no means is the transplant an easy process for the patient, in my mom's case she had to endure a week of intense chemo prior to tranpslant and then remain in the hospital for several more weeks.  To think about the process - that a person's immune system is essentially killed off and then reborn with the donor's marrow - it still amazes me just to think about it.  But the transplant my mom received has allowed her to continue her fight - a belief we had confirmed with my mom's most recent visit to MD Anderson.

And that's all I wanted from this drive - to find one potential match to give one family the hope that they need in such a difficult time.  And we did!  So my thanks again to all who helped out and those who stopped by to sign up - your efforts are so greatly appreciated - more than you probably know.