Inspirational Stories

On October 30th, 2019, I was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) at 39 years old and having been an athlete my entire life. I was actually swimming and training to compete when I got the news. With a wife of 13 years and three kids at home, an 11 yr old boy and twin 9-year-old girls, everything changed for our family, even just going out “Trick or Treating.”

I underwent two rounds of chemotherapy before my older brother was found to be a "Haplo" match as a bone marrow donor. The transplant took place on February 1, 2020 (only 26 days before my actual birthday). This kick started my new lease on life.

I am now 138 days post transplant and put back on 13 of the 40 lbs I lost. But I’m feeling strong and ready to take on this second chance at life. I owe so much of my physical, spiritual and mental health to my wife. We just celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary on June 10th and my kids are all having birthdays the first week of July.

I look forward to the next chapter so bring on the challenges!