For those who’ve been following our family’s journey, the latest news is that there’s a good chance I’m back on as the best option for my brother Joe’s bone marrow transplant.
So this part of the journey’s been:
1) Joe gets leukemia. He needs a transplant.
2) I test as a perfect match as his donor & we all scheduled for transplant. Elation.
3) My daughter gets leukemia. On top of all that, Joe’s docs take me off the table as the donor. Heartbreak.
4) We didn’t share this part too much but we found out there was one other possible good option in the US and they were working to contact that individual. Around the same time, I got a phone call from an excited Be The Match rep informing me I had matched as a possible donor from a sample I’d given 20 years ago. A little weird but as she started to describe the potential recipient, I got sick to my stomach and told them that I’m pretty sure they were talking about my brother. The poor rep was stunned and though they couldn’t disclose to me, Joe’s docs eventually told him that, yep, this one other possible donor they were looking for was me. Gut punch.
5) We start making a mega push to get people tested for the bone marrow registry, especially among underrepresented populations like the East Asian community and others.
6) I’m blessed to know some folk who know folk who suggest Joe pursue a 2nd opinion. Joe gets that and their consensus opinion is that I’m still the best option.
Man. You can’t write a story like this. Highs and lows.
Here’s the thing though. Realistically, the reason Joe’s making videos and I’m writing articles and getting interviewed (links below) is we had real skin in the game with my brother’s life on the line but what started as a personal matter has evolved. They changed the web format so it doesn’t display anymore but the last I saw a few weeks back, the article had been shared over 3000 times and I’ve personally been hearing so many stories of folk getting tested. Amazing.
As Joe and I were talking, then, we marveled at the irony that in the end all these efforts will probably never be needed by him. Yet to consider that others might receive the blessing from even one more person being tested who might not have otherwise! And we most likely would not have done all this if things had originally gone the way we would have wanted.
LOOK AT HOW GOD WORKS!
Know that God is on the move even when our feeble eyes can’t recognize it at the time. Thank you for continually walking with our family through all this. #HyunStrong
Links:
Dan Hyun 