Sacrifice

It's a small sacrifice for the healthy to help someone who isn't. James, my fiancé, is making this sacrifice. Here are some of his thoughts:

Donating Bone Marrow. When I got the call that I'm a match, I was so happy. To be honest I felt like I won the lottery.

How did I get involved to do this? Well, it all started out about a couple years ago when my coworker Shawn Hegarty found out he had Leukemia. I miss him; he was such a good friend, a good father, and a good husband. The bone marrow registry came to my job at Fedex. All it took was a swab test in the mouth, my inner cheek. No pain at all.

So two years later, I get a call asking me if I'm willing to donate. I said sure. I was so stoked to help. I felt bad that I couldn't help Shawn. I thought maybe I can help this lady out. It's so sad that sometimes it takes a terrible tragedy to happen for something good to come out of it.

At first, all they did was take some blood to see if my blood was okay to give to the recipient. They checked for any diseases. Then, after that passes all the tests, I had to take a physical exam to see if I'm in good shape to go through the process. I had two weeks before I had to get to either Seattle or San Diego. They give u a choice to go to either location. I picked Seattle. Being from Hawaii, it's going to be cold for me in Seattle. It's okay, a small sacrifice to deal with to help give someone a second chance at life.

The bone marrow registry will take care of all your flights and hotel, plus meals and lost wages. You tell me that isn't a win-win situation? But the best thing about this whole experience is helping someone with life. All I know is the person I'm donating my bone marrow to is a 46-year old woman with leukemia. I don't know if she has a husband or a family with kids. The way approaching this is: I couldn't help my coworker Shawn out, who passed away. I feel horrible about it; so, I feel like the least I can do is to do this for this lady and her family because if anyone in my family had to go through this, I hope someone would do the same for us. I'm not out to become a hero or anything like that. It's all about giving to someone in need and a chance to live a full life with the ones who love her.

Aloha, have a great day! Tune in for the progress of this adventure.