Miracles do Happen

Keane and Ethan

When you work at a marrow donor center you want miracles to happen everyday and sometimes you feel like all you feel is sadness and heartache. With each new person we talk about who needs a life-saving donor your heart breaks a bit because you know how hard it is to find a perfect match. I mean statistically speaking, how many perfect genetic twins can you have in the world? And, who are actually registered as a marrow donor? It used to make me wish that we were all born a twin, that way our perfect donor would always be right there. Well, that was until I heard about the Denke's and their twin boys.

Xander and Carrie Denke are quite possibly the happiest couple. So happy to be married and pregnant with twins. And even though delivery was rough on October 13th, 2006 Keane and Ethan were brought into the world. And even though they still had to spend some time in the NICU, their birth was still a wonderful experience for both parents.

Flash forward to February 27th, 2007, Ethan is diagnosed with Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis(HLH) a few months later it was determined that the HLH was familial and that Keane had it too. The only known cure would be a marrow transplant and doctors had been searching for one since Ethan was diagnosed. All they could do was wait.

But they didn't have to wait that long. On May 10th, 2007 they got the phone call that would potentially save their boys lives. A 9 out of 10 match. Not perfect but good enough for transplant. And then as if they hadn't experienced enough disappointment they lost the donor due to some kind of health problem. But that didn't stop the search and it wouldn't stop the search until a perfect (10 out of 10) match was found. The Denke's teamed up with DKMS to hold marrow drives all over California and we started a press campaign to bring attention to the need for marrow donors. One donor could save both boys.

And one donor did. The boys went to transplant on September 20th, 2007.

Its been a little over five months since the boys have had their transplant and I'm pleased to say that they are doing well. They are eating solid food and they are allowed to venture outside. And, while they have to be careful and avoid crowds they are just like any normal little boys. Normal little boys who had their lives saved by a stranger and who proved to me that miracles do happen.

If you want to stay up-to-date on the Denkes you can check out their website The Denke Family