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Stories of Hope

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To better understand the impact of bone marrow failure, we present stories told by the patients, parents, family members, and spouses who are living with these illnesses. Our entire community benefits from the insightful stories patients and family members share with us about their personal journeys.

Tyler Andrews

I'm Like You: Tyler Andrews

Tyler Andrews has been passionate about running for most of his life. The 26-year-old turned it into his profession and has competed all over the world. But the biggest competition he ever faced was at the tender age of six, when he was confronted with aplastic anemia. He was in first grade when he was horsing around one day with his older brother and fell down a flight of stairs. It was the luckiest tumble he ever took, leading to the enduring family joke that his brother saved his life by...

Heather Gouldsmith

Gouldsmith Family Pulls Together for Gabby

In June 2011, my daughter Gabby was seven, and we had just relocated from Las Vegas to Reno, Nevada. She seemed tired and had alarming bruises on her shins. She also had a persistent ear infection and I noticed red dots (petechiae) on her shoulders. I’m a nurse and work for a pediatrician, so seeing all this in a short time set off alarms for me. I took Gabby to Dr. Robin White's pediatric practice (where I work) for further examination. Dr. White became very involved in Gabby's care and even...

Vincent Rusak

I'm Like You: Vincent Rusak

Vincent Rusak of New Kensington, PA, traveled extensively during his 26-year career as an expert electronic service technician. For 15 of those years, he was also a regular blood donor in his community. His father’s quadruple bypass surgery, as well as a deep compassion for his fellow man, were Vince's motivation for contributing to his local blood banks every six to nine months. Little did he know that this selfless habit would someday save his life. One day 13 years ago, Vince went to give...

Judi Wilkinson

I'm Like You: Judi Wilkinson

Judi Wilkinson of Ormond Beach, Florida, has worked as a mortgage underwriter, 911 operator and auto racing team manager. She was accustomed to handling tough situations, as well as emergencies. But when the strong and active mother of two received her aplastic anemia diagnosis 14 years ago, she was just as stunned as every other bone marrow failure patient. "It scared the daylights out of  me." Judi recalls being in the best shape of her life since high school when, out of the blue, she felt...

Jeff Paccione

“Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere.”

On April 15, 2007, my husband Jeff, age 39, tucked our two and three year old boys into bed. He suddenly yelled down to me in a concerned voice, “Honey, my vision is slightly distorted, and it must be a migraine. I’m going to lay down for a bit.” I was not extremely concerned since Jeff had gotten migraines in the past. But the next day, the other eye was also adversely affected in the same way. We sent the boys to day care, and went to the eye doctor, who immediately referred Jeff to a...

Briana Donis

I'm Like You: Briana Donis

Homecoming queen and top student Briana Donis always wanted to go to the University of Texas at Austin. “I was having a pretty awesome year.  I was very well known at school and I had a boyfriend.”  She had just been accepted at the school of her choice when she noticed how really tired she was all the time. And then the bleeding started. “When I would cut myself, like it would be just a little paper cut, I would fill up a napkin with blood. I thought it was really weird.” It was really severe...

Denise Beauchemin

My Life is Making a Difference

Beginning September 2012, I just wasn’t feeling quite right. I was increasingly fatigued and there were some perplexing bleeding incidents, as well. After many months I experienced partial vision – just little areas of vision that were blank. Internal bleeding in the eyes was causing this, and my eye doctor knew it was serious and even thought it could be leukemia. Blood tests were done, and when my doctor saw the results he called and told me to go to the emergency room right away. My...

Thomas Howlett

2014 Matthew Debono Scholarship Winner Thomas Howlett

Thomas is thankful he has a future. He wasn’t so sure when in March 2011 he was told as a high school freshman that “he wouldn’t be playing paintball for a while.” Thomas was diagnosed with MDS that quickly progressed into acute myeloid leukemia. His family was told that his only chance for survival was a bone marrow transplant. As an only child, the doctors had to find an unrelated match and they were fortunate to find a 24-year-old female from Minnesota who saved Thomas’s life. Thomas and...

Annette Lysan

2014 Matthew Debono Scholarship Winner Annette Lysan

In March, Annette had the honor of singing a solo for her high school senior show. She chose to sing “I Was Here”, a song recorded by the group Lady Antebellum and others. The lyrics for the chorus start with “I wanna do something that matters – say something different – something that sets the whole world on its ear – I wanna do something better with the time I’ve been given.” She considers it her personal anthem. Nineteen-year-old Annette has overcome several obstacles since she was...

Ricky Smith, Jr.

I'm Like You: Ricky Smith, Jr.

29-year-old Ricky Smith, Jr. has had bone marrow failure disease for half of his life, beginning with aplastic anemia at the age of 14, followed by PNH when he was 23. "I just wanted to live the normal life of a teenager," said Ricky. But it just wasn’t meant to be. When he was taken to the hospital to find out why he’d become so weak, he passed out because he had so little blood in his body. The teenager who’d been so excited about high school and sports became angry and depressed as he...