Dear All, Every day can be filled with promise. I know sometimes that is hard to see, to accept. But the challenges I faced yesterday were light burdens today. I had a much shorter walk. The pathway was free of obstacles and there was just a gentle cool breeze as I made my way to Casa Grande. Walking through Casa Grande I spied the newspaper office, the Casa Grande Dispatch. After hearing my story they agreed to do an interview later in the day. The general manager of the Holiday Inn offered me a room for the night along with meals! I had lunch and did my interview with Melissa from the Casa Grande Dispatch and by 4:00 I went to my room for some rest.
Around 8:00 pm I went down to the bar to have a light supper. There I could hear two men speaking with German accents. (Ronnie and Alex) During the introductions I told them and Dean who was also sitting at the bar Jada and Torsten’s story and how easy it is to join Be The Match by texting LIFE to 61474. Then I added in Germany you can type in DKMS.de to join the German Donor Center. The younger of the two men, Alex, said, “I know. I belong to Deutschland Knochenmarkspender and I donated my blood to a young man who was about to be married.” Just hearing their German accents had put a smile on my face because it made me feel closer to Jada’s donor, Torsten Huber. Then to hear Alex’s story of saving the life of his fellow countryman filled me with joy. Alex humbly shared his donor story. He and his recipient are the same age. He received a letter from the recipient two years post transplant that said he had married his girl and that he and his wife are indebted to Alex for his life. This is why I walk so that there will be many, many more stories of successful transplants from donor to recipient. I am especially determined to increase awareness for the need to register folks of Native American, African American, Latinx, and Asian descent, on the Be The Match registry, with this Steps To-Marrow 3 walk. You all can help by sharing how to join Be The Match by texting LIFE to 61474 and joining yourself if you are between the ages of 18 and 60 and medically eligible.
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StepsToMarrow 