Pay it Forward for a Friend... for FREE!

Good Tuesday morning to you all! 

We've all heard of the Pay it Forward movement where you just do something nice for someone else without any expectation of something in return. 

And for you longer time followers, you know that my mother had leukemia (in remission) and my MIL is currently battling leukemia.

One of my friends is also battling lymphoma right now. She's my age. She has two kids. And she is hands down one of the nicest people on the planet. Please take the time to read her story and consider becoming a registered bone marrow donor. 

Meet Jessi: 

A little over 3 years ago I had given birth to my youngest son and then almost 11 months later (at the ripe old age of 27) they found that I had Hodgkin's Lymphoma.  

It was extremely advanced in its size (about the size of a small watermelon aka cantaloupe aka way too freaking huge) and so the journey of 9 months of chemo treatments and then 1 month of radiation ensued.  During that time you learn how truly giving and loving people are.  Many people, many of whom I had yet to get to know closely came and cleaned my house, brought my family meals, and took me to treatments.  I am truly blessed.  

After this long and arduous journey- it was OVER and I thought "yay, life could begin once again!!" 

I was in remission April 2013.  Not knowing that I truly was at risk for recurrence this quickly, my family and I made a game changing decision, and I took a job in Sidney, NE at Cabela's corporate headquarters.  Once I moved I found a new set of doctors, and they diligently participated in my check ups and made sure I was ok.  Then came March 2014 and they thought they saw the cancer becoming active again.  

I think I about crumbled, having gone through so much already, it was definitely the worst news!  May 2014 confirmed it after an extensive biopsy, and since then I have been on the journey once again- to kick this shit in the ass!   

Tomorrow I start my 2nd round of chemo on this recurrence journey.  After I finish my second round, I will then station myself in Denver for roughly 1 1/2-2 months for my stem cell transplant.  Here comes the tricky part... because of the massive doses of chemo I've already received the doctors aren't certain whether or not I can produce the 5 million stem cells needed for the transplant, so I MAY or MAY NOT need a donor.  My brothers have both been enlisted to sign up because they have the likely hood of being a 25% chance match.  Because my treatment is coming up so quickly (possibly mid July), and it takes a few weeks to get kits in and then send back, I've enlisted the support of many of my friends to help on this journey!  

Here's the thing, I love to live!  I just simply think it's pretty freaking fantastic, and I'd like to spend so much more time on this earth, watch my kids graduate high school, college, get married!  I want those things so badly!  So for the love of Jesus please go and sign up to be a donor.  If you're not a match for me, you could save someone else's life!  My biggest wish is that for my 30th birthday I'll get to say I'm officially in remission- hair or not- I'll take it! :) And I need loving and charitable people like you!!! 

If you haven't previously registered as a donor, please go here and it today! It is so easy! 

 BECOME A DONOR


You put in your information, they send you a kit, you swab the inside of your cheek and mail the swab back to them. 


That's it. And you are a registered hero! If they call you because you are a match for someone, they pay for everything and it is almost always as simple as giving blood. 

Speaking from personal experience here, the hope of a match is EVERYTHING. 

Someone out there registered as a donor and has afforded us more time with my mother in law. For those who have been wondering how she is doing, she is still in St. Louis under treatment, but the transplant was successful! 

The first bone marrow test post transplant revealed NO CANCER and 100% of the bone marrow was the donor's! 

Whoever this donor is will never know what they have done for our family. 

And you could be that person for Jessi. You can't find a better person to be a hero for. Do it for her, do it for her kids... just do it. Please. 

As Jessi so eloquently puts it, SWAB IT LIKE ITS HOT!  

 

Feel free to share this on any social media you care too. We need more donors!