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 Donate Blood – Somebody Needs It
Michelle
Motta learned first hand that even healthy, young adults can find
themselves depending on the generosity of blood donors
to survive.
When she was 21, Michelle needed the “gift of life” after
being diagnosed with chronic leukemia. In March of 2001, Michelle,
a young woman with no family history of cancer and who had hardly
been sick a day in her life, began to feel light-headed and was
immediately diagnosed with the life threatening disease.
Michelle
right away began taking oral chemotherapy to destroy the cancerous
cells. Her mother and sisters immediately signed
up to be tested as potential bone marrow donors. If one of her
family members matched, then Michelle had a shot at survival.
Without a family match, Michelle would have to turn to the National
Bone
Marrow Registry and wait to find a potential donor. No one knew
if she would live long enough to be matched with a donor. Three
long weeks of waiting passed before the test results came back.
Her older sister Jenny was a perfect match.
On July 18, 2001, Jenny
went under anesthesia, lay on an operating table, and had bone
marrow extracted from her hip. Michelle was
waiting nearby, ready to accept the gift. The procedure went well
and was followed by more drug therapy and nearly a dozen blood
transfusions. The O-positive blood type that used to course through
Michelle’s body is now Jenny’s B-positive blood. “Our
lives were more separate before. We were more like friends, now
we’re more connected at the hip, literally,“ said Jenny.
Michelle
said she never accepted the possibility that she could lose her
battle with cancer. When the doctors tried to talk to
her about her odds of recovery, she would have no part in the
discussion. “I
didn’t want to hear about the odds. To me, it’s all
50-50. You either make it or you don’t, “ stated Michelle.
Michelle
made it and is now a healthy 25 year-old woman who has a real passion
for life. She owns and operates Common Grounds Espresso
stand located at the Alaska Club Midtown parking lot. Michelle
is grateful to be a cancer survivor. She feels she survived due
to the generous gift of her sister’s bone marrow and the
30 silent heroes who donated blood to keep her alive.
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