Twenty year old Tyler was in his second year of college and was really doing well as a runner. No event seemed beyond his abilities. He had not reached his full potential yet and his coach had great plans for him. Tyler came from a middle class background and worked part time to help pay for his education. All in all, he was a decent young man making his way in the world. It was a world filled with promise.
At the beginning of his second year he noticed his energy level was not what it had been. His coach noticed it too. The slower times in all the track events were a surprise and cause for concern. Tyler wasn't concerned at first. But that soon changed. His health declined quickly.
At his coaches insistence to find out what was wrong, Tyler made an appointment with a doctor and during the next few weeks underwent various tests designed to find out what was wrong.
Finally the day came when he was in the doctors office waiting to learn the results of the tests. As soon as the doctor entered the room, Tyler knew it was bad news. The main thing Tyler would remember about that consultation was one word. Leukemia. With that one word his world and indeed his future was turned upside down and inside out.
Six months later Tyler was the received a phone call. The HLA Registry Foundation had good news. They had found a bone marrow donor. It was the best news he had gotten in a very long time!
Tyler had been through all the treatments available to him and it had not helped. Now he was to undergo the "conditioning" so that he could be given the bone marrow that would eventually save his life. The transplant is a very simple procedure. A transfusion, much like a blood transfusion would deliver the life saving marrow directly into his blood stream.
This simple procedure allowed him to have hope again. Hope for his future. And part of that was the hope - now realized - that he would be able to run again. He is no ordinary runner. Not Tyler. He is a runner that has an exuberant smile on his face even during the most intense competition. He laughs easily and often. And he looks like the picture of health now - because he is.
I have been registered as a bone marrow donor for many years and so has my husband. What does it take to register as a bone marrow donor? Well
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