Am I the missing piece to saving someone’s life? I got the call today that I never imagined getting, it's not something I think about at all...well I have recently only because of Brenda.
In 2004, Ms. Olivia twisted my arm and dragged me to the A's Fan Fest at the Oakland Coliseum along with a few of our other TNT friends from our 2003 Spring Season. It was a fun day and I got into the hunt for A's players. We were there for what seemed forever stalking the Oakland A's players. We had a great time and manged to get quite a few pictures with the players and quite a few autographs. Towards the end of the day our friends had had enough and they all left. It was just Olivia and I roaming the coliseum to see who else we'd find. We came to a room where the National Bone Marrow Organization had set up an area for blood typing. I am a big baby when it comes to needles and wasn't so sure I wanted to do it BUT there was an incentive. A picture with Barry Zito and Bobby Crosby and a signed T-Shirt...SIGN ME UP. I think of it now and geesh what a selfish girl I am. I wasn't even thinking that some day I could save someone’s life. That of course has changed since meeting Cole and Brenda and the rest of our honorees. Olivia and I signed up, we gave blood and were signed up on the Bone Marrow Registry. We got our signed shirt and managed to get a picture with Barry Zito. I only was able to get a picture from a distance of Bobby Crosby. We were happy girls and that ended our day with the A's.
Today, 2 years and 7 months later I got THE CALL. The National Bone Marrow Registry called me today and I am a match. I am not sure right now if I am excited or super nervous. The only thing I know right now is that I am a match for a 61 year old male with Myeloma. I was asked if I wanted to do this and I said YES of course I do. I am not a match for Brenda but I am still a match and I could potentially save someone’s life. I was asked about 60 something questions on the phone and since I am pretty darn healthy we will go ahead and proceed. The only concern is that I may be to small...HAA, HAA...I laughed when she said I was tiny. I guess compared to the guy who needs my cells I am tiny. I will go in on September 11th (wow, what a day to pick) for more blood work. They will run lots more tests on my blood and see how close of a match I am and if I will be a better bone marrow or stem cell donor for him. It will be between 6-12 weeks before I know what is going to happen. I can't believe it.
Of course I had to call Brenda and tell her. She thought it was awesome that I may be a potential match for someone.
I do too, but I will admit I am nervous. I have a lot of reading up to do about this. This may not work out but I am hoping it does.
I will do this for the 61 year old man who needs me to do it and I will do it in honor of my friend Brenda who'll be going through her own transplant in a few weeks.
7 comments:
Wow, that is so cool! Scary, when you think of all the needles, but wonderful because you may make the difference between life and death to someone that you have never even met before.
That is awesome. I received a similar call about 4 years ago, but unfortunately I was not a match. I received a call for a 54 year old male. I was one of many that had been called. I had just gotten on the donor list so they still had my blood and were going to run some more test, but it didn't go further from there. Well Good luck and I hope he finds the match he needs, whether it be you or someone else.
Congratulations to you and the recipient. You are potentially saving a life and you got a picture with Barry, who, by the way, looks a lot more nervous than you do.
Wow..you can save someone's life. That is huge! ^_^
WOW! That is amazing! And a little scary. I always thought about what I would feel if I got called... of course you have to say yes but it still is a little scary. I'm sure your decision means the world to this man! Does this qualify as your good deed for the year?
To potentially save someone's life is amazing! Please keep us posted on how everything unfolds.
I’m am so envious. You must be honored and scared and excited. You are strong and healthy person, the 61 year old man will reap the those wonderful attributes. To truly be a direct result of saving someone’s life, to say that’s special is putting it mildly.
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