By Former Emporian Lisa Spillman Mesa, 32, now of Broken Arrow, OK., needed a bone marrow or stem cell transplant. Suffering from acute myelogenous leukemia, her survival depended on it.
In the Bone Marrow Registry, no donors in the U.S. came up as a match for Lisa.
Finally, a donor was found overseas. Stem cells were taken from the donor’s blood and transported to the U.S. Lisa has received the stem cells and is recovering in a Dallas hospital.
One person from another country is giving Lisa a second chance.
You, too, could save a life.
A Bone Marrow Registry Drive will take place tomorrow, Monday, March 2 at Emporia Fitness at 12th and Industrial in Emporia from 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
They’ll take swab samples from the inside your mouth. That’s it, apparently. And you have to be willing to donate your stem cells or marrow to whomever needs them, should your name come up as a match.
OK, there’s a catch. It costs $25 (which is a discount from the normal registry fee of $52.)
Now, if you sign up as a member of Emporia Fitness for at least one month, owner Greg Bachman will pay that $25 fee for you. Lisa used to be a physical therapist for Emporia Fitness so that’s the connection there.
I’ve corresponded with Lisa via e-mail and she told me, “Thankfully my donor came up and she ended up being the only one in the world, so getting tested is so important. I can’t even begin to say what it feels like to have someone save your life. I only hope one day I get to meet her.”
Maybe you can be a hero. Maybe you can save someone’s life.
I should be in the registry from the early 1990s when they took blood.
Thank you so much for posting this——–I had missed the story—I have known Lisa’s Mother since we were young girls—–I know her Mother as Judy Cooper! Thanks so much——-I have not talked to Judy since we started the sizing down & our move to Mo.—–I need to contact Judy!!!
Thanks for sharing!!!!!!