[ad_1]
After a long trip that saw him undergo intensive therapy to save his life, Johnny Sawyer Dyer, 9, finally met the bone marrow donor who helped him send his leukemia to remission, according to ABC. Hello America reports.
In January 2017, Sawyer was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia – a cancer that starts in the bone marrow and often passes into the bloodstream, reports the American Cancer Society. Sawyer underwent four cycles of chemotherapy and full body radiation before a bone marrow transplant a few months later.
While many in Sawyer's hometown of Corryton, Tennessee, celebrated the news of his remission last August (the community even organized a parade), Sawyer never got to meet him.
"It was not fun," Sawyer told GMA about his cancer treatments. "It would be great to meet the person who saved my life."
Sawyer's wish was finally realized on September 22, when he met Kevin Schwartzel, 29, of San Diego, California.
"We were so grateful to him for doing this for Sawyer," Sawyer's mother, Misty Dyer, told GMA. "Sometimes thank you, you do not seem to tell anyone who saved your son's life."
Sawyer, the day of his transplant
Sarah Cannon Center for Blood Cancer
RELATED: Students surprise their dear teacher on his last day of chemotherapy: "I had tears in my eyes"
According to ABC, Schwartzel, a medical assistant, initially registered as a donor in 2011, and it was in 2017 that he heard of a potential beneficiary needing his help. His bone marrow would go to Sawyer, then 8 years old, and help him overcome the obstacles in his fight against the disease.
"It was very hard when he lost his hair and he was really sick," Sawyer's mother told GMA. "It's great to see him in good health, happy, being able to find his friends and family to become a normal child."
Following this donation, Sawyer's family sent their details to Schwartzel through the Be the Match Gift Registry. Schwartzel joined them and the long-awaited meeting came to fruition.
"I'm still trying to struggle with the gravity of the situation because I've seen pictures and I know how bad these kids can be," Schwartzel said in a video message to GMA. . My bone marrow, something with which I have just been born, has made it out of this situation.
Kevin Schwartzel (second from left) and Sawyer's family
Sarah Cannon Center for Blood Cancer
RELATED: Distressed parents meet the boy who received the lungs of their three-year-old son after being hit in the car
In a video posted by ABC, Sawyer – with full hair and dressed in a light blue-collar shirt – is seen hugging Schwartzel in his arms during their moving encounter.
For Schwartzel, it was a chance to see the emotional power behind such an unselfish and beneficial act as bone marrow donation.
"[Sawyer] can go to school, now he does not have to wear masks everywhere he goes – it's crazy, "said Schwartzel. "It's a small thing to do for me and it literally means life or death for someone else I have never even met."
Source link
