00594 Report2C Digital 2020-04-30 - Flipbook - Page 9
MOTHER’S
INTUITION LEADS
TO HEARTACHE
AND HOPE
the family remained hopeful and even
hosted a fundraiser to encourage people
to join the registry on behalf of JJ. Days
after the fundraiser, good news arrived
from the search front—JJ had multiple
matches! The donor selected was a young
man from overseas, and JJ’s arduous
transplant journey began quickly.
JJ with mom, Danielle, and dad, Anthony
JJ’s mother, Danielle, was diagnosed
with neutropenia (a disease marked by
an unusually low count of neutrophils,
a type of white blood cell) at 18 months
old. Thankfully, as a teenager, she received
a life-saving blood stem cell transplant
from her younger sister.
Years later, Danielle and her husband,
Anthony, were excited to start a family,
but Danielle was afraid that the condition
could be passed along to their child.
Despite doctors’ reassurances that the
disease wasn’t hereditary, Danielle’s
worst fears were confirmed soon after JJ
was born—he also had neutropenia.
By the time he was 6 months old, JJ was
at risk for leukemia due to the high doses
of medication he needed. Doctors urged
that it was time to consider a transplant.
Experts at the University of California,
San Francisco, began searching the
Be The Match Registry for a match for JJ.
Watch JJ’s story.
6 | BeTheMatch.org/2020
JJ, blood stem cell
transplant recipient
As JJ battled high fevers and infections
that led to multiple hospitalizations,
Every day brought Danielle another
dose of hope mixed with heartache as
she watched JJ endure chemotherapy.
A transplant procedure followed chemo,
and then JJ experienced a relatively quick
recovery and hospital discharge after
seven weeks.
“Not being able to hold your baby the
way you want—it was pretty brutal,”
Danielle says. On top of that, Danielle
was self-employed and not making any
money when she took time off to be with
JJ. A grant from Be The Match helped
cover some of the extra expenses like gas
to get to and from the hospital, parking
and meals. “Those were the things I was
worried about—the little expenses people
don’t even consider,” she says. “That’s
where Be The Match really helped.”
Today, JJ is an energetic preschooler
who loves gymnastics. The family tries
to live life to the fullest and not take
anything for granted. They know JJ’s
Be The Match donor gave JJ a healthy
future and the opportunity to be
together as a family to experience the
ordinary—and extraordinary—moments
of everyday life.
LAUREN
STEPS UP TO
SAVE A LIFE
Lauren, blood
stem cell donor
Hear Lauren tell her donor story.
Lauren joined the Be The Match Registry after
hearing about the need for more African American
donors during a class at Prairie View A&M
University in Texas.
Six months later, the biology major received a call
that she was a match for a young boy. Without
hesitation, Lauren immediately said she would
honor her commitment to donate. She donated
blood stem cells in the hope that her donation
would restore his health and provide the life-saving
cure he so desperately needed.
2019 Report to the Community | 7