Rob
Nip it in the bud!
Number of posts : 62635
Location : Michigan
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 | | Subject: This guy... Tue May 07, 2013 6:56 am | |
| ‘I never had a second thought’: College athlete cuts career short to save stranger’s life
Cameron Lyle A man with blood cancer was desperate for healthy bone marrow and Cameron Lyle was the only match on a national registry of potential donorsCameron Lyle has asked a lot of his body over the years, but he never expected it to save the life of a stranger.A shot put star on the University of New Hampshire track and field team, Lyle was at the pinnacle of his collegiate athletic career when he had to make a profound decision.A man with blood cancer was desperate for healthy bone marrow and Lyle was the only match on a national registry of potential donors. The only problem: if Lyle decided to donate, it would mean missing some of the most important track meets of his senior season.Faced with cutting his career short, Lyle focused only on the chance to save someone’s life.“I was surprised, I was pretty happy. I said yes right away,” Lyle, 21, told TODAY. “And then afterwards I thought about everything that that meant giving up, but I never had a second thought about donating. If I had said no, he wouldn’t have had a match.”Lyle had all but forgotten the Be The Match Registry drive that came to his university two years ago. He allowed his cheeks to be swabbed and didn’t think much more of it. Only 1 out of 540 people who sign up go on to donate, according to the National Marrow Donor Program, which operates the Be The Match Registry.Then, two months ago, he got a call. Lyle was told he was a possible match for a young man with a rare form of leukemia, a disease that gets worse quickly if not treated, according to the National Cancer Institute.It took two hours for doctors to collect about two liters – some eight cups -- of bone marrow from Lyle’s pelvic bone. His body will regenerate the marrow in about two weeks.Most people can return to their full activities within days after the donation, according to Dr. Jeffrey Chell, CEO of the National Marrow Donor Program. But most people aren’t track stars who hurl heavy metal objects as part of their normal routine.Doctors told Lyle to take it easy and not lift more than 20 pounds for about a month – routine advice after any surgical procedure, Chell said -- effectively ending his collegiate track career. Until then, he plans on recuperating and watching his teammates compete at the America East Conference where he’d planned on “going out pretty big.” Lyle’s donation also meant missing the Penn Relays and other events where he wanted to shine after eight years of shot put training.“But it’s OK,” he said. “It was worth it. I would do it again, too.” | |
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Amy
Somewhere in Time
Number of posts : 13417
Location : Michigan
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Krissy
Ingalls Friend for Life
Number of posts : 45733
Location : Ontario, Canada
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| | Subject: Re: This guy... Tue May 07, 2013 10:13 am | |
| wow.Touching.  “Tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it... Yet.” ― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables | |
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What a wonderful program this 'Be the Match' program is! 