00594 Report2C Digital 2020-04-30 - Flipbook - Page 12
SEARCHING FOR
A MATCH AND A CURE
CELEBRATING THE
HOPE OF TOMORROW
When Briana was a pre-teen, she often would wake
up at night with intense stomach pain. After visiting
the hospital, she was diagnosed with aplastic anemia.
Doctors said she would need a blood stem cell
transplant.
Seven-year-old Lucy likes ballet, going to the library,
riding her bike with friends and playing Uno® with her
family. “Lucy just likes being around people, especially
younger kids,” says her mom, Anne. “She has a great
sense of humor and loves to make people laugh.”
Without a fully matched donor in her family, Briana
turned to Be The Match. Fourteen years later, she’s still
waiting to find a match.
Unfortunately, life hasn’t always been so carefree for
Lucy. When she was just 6 months old, she developed
a persistent high fever and nodules in her skin that were
found to contain leukemia cells. Lucy’s diagnosis of acute
myeloid leukemia (AML) meant she needed to begin
treatment right away at the University of Michigan.
As an African American, the likelihood of Briana
finding a matching donor is only 23 percent. Currently,
there aren’t enough African American donors on the
registry to help African American patients.
The first round of chemotherapy beat the cancer, but
it returned a few months later. Lucy’s doctor said a
blood stem cell transplant would be needed to save her
life. Everything went smoothly on transplant day, but
she experienced acute graft-versus-host disease of the
skin and spent 50 days in the hospital (220 days total)
recovering.
Today Briana, 26, continues to live life the best she
can as a mother, daughter, student and photographer.
“I’d like to work in family counseling with a goal to
work for the school system,” she says. “But more
importantly, I just want to be around for my son.”
The reality is, Briana is sicker than she’s ever been.
She battles debilitating pain due to her illness and is
constantly at doctor appointments. Briana needs to
find a match—soon.
“Lucy was the sickest she had been during those 50 days
after transplant,” Anne says. “This was a really difficult
time for our family, I asked myself ‘Will she ever be well
enough for us to leave—will it always be like this?’ “
“Blessings come in so many different forms,” she says.
“A stranger could come and save my life.”
Today, Lucy is happy and healthy and enjoys playing
soccer. “We have so much to be thankful for,” Anne says.
“We celebrate every milestone, big and small.”
See the back cover for Lucy’s special thank you.
Lucy, blood stem cell
transplant recipient
By giving to the Be The Match Foundation®, you will
help add new potential life-saving donors to the
registry, giving patients like Briana a greater chance of
finding their match.
Briana, searching patient,
and her son, Tabiaz
10 | BeTheMatch.org/2020
2019 Report to the Community | 11