Brian`s Story
By Roger Lovette
[Dr. Roger Lovette is Pastor of the Baptist Church of the Covenant in Birmingham, Alabama. He is a frequent contributor to Christian Ethics Today.]
The wedding invitation I held in my hand intrigued me. Bryan was marrying Rachel. I began to smile as the wheels of memory started turning.
In 1986 this groom-to-be was then twelve years old. He became very sick one day and was rushed to the hospital. After a series a tests it was discovered that Brian was in renal failure. His family was called in because he was gravely ill. Further tests revealed that Brian was suffering from acute leukemia.
So Brian, his family and the doctors began the battle for his life. For two years he would be on a roller coaster ride of chemotherapy, cranial radiation, and remission. There would be bouts of violent sickness, terrible nausea. His hair fell out and he became very weak. Then there would be a brief respite called remission and the scary ride would start again. For a little boy on the edge of adolescence, this was a most difficult time.
For a while it looked as if the treatments had been successful. Brian went into remission, returned to school and his life returned to normal. That normalcy was short-lived. Brian relapsed and the old tug of war between red and white corpuscles raged again. His only hope now was a bone marrow transplant. But the doctors warned that this procedure was risky, painful, and very dangerous.
Having no other choice, Brian and his family decided to try the transplant. A bone marrow transplant is a complicated process. The patient`s own bone marrow must be killed which would leave his immune system practically non-existent. He would be subject to the slightest infection. He would have no immune system to fight back. New bone marrow would have to be aspirated from someone else and then placed in Brian`s body. But like blood types, bone marrow varies from person to person. The search began for a perfect bone marrow match. His mother and father and many friends were discounted. Their bone marrow did not match. And then his eleven year old sister, Missy was tested. Her bone marrow was a perfect match and she volunteered for this scary procedure.
Weeks later, Brian, his mother and his sister flew to a cancer center in Seattle which his doctors had recommended. In Seattle Brian and his sister were prepared for his transplant. First, Missy was wheeled into surgery where two units of her bone marrow were painfully extracted. That afternoon, Brian`s mother and sister watched through a plate-glass window while Missy`s bone marrow slowly dripped into her brother`s arm.
Brian would be in isolation for 35 days. Infection is one of the great dangers for this risky procedure. The family was warned that there was a chance that Brian`s body might reject his sister`s bone marrow. Those days were not only long and lonely, but they were very scary. Bryan was sick, nauseated, and in great pain as his body fought to survive. During that time of isolation, nine young people on his floor died of acute leukemia.
But Brian was more fortunate. Three months later he was well enough to return home to Memphis with his family. Slowly his recovery began. He would remain at home for a year so that his immune system could return to normal.
Brian worked very hard during that year. Even though he was very weak, he rode an exercise bike day after day. He began to run around the block and then two blocks and then more. By the next fall he was well enough to return to school and even joined the cross-country track team. He graduated with his high school class the next spring and was awarded the President`s Academic Fitness Award.
The next fall Brian enrolled in the University of Memphis. He was a busy young man. Besides his college work, he did volunteer work at St. Jude`s Hospital and sang in his church`s choir. His story was so remarkable that a film of Brian`s brave journey was produced and shown in seven states. He has met Presidents and a multitude of other famous people. He has been the recipient of many awards. He went on to graduate from college and holds a good job. Miraculously, Brian is cancer free.
Last Saturday he stood at the altar and married Rachel. I am sure that most of those gathered for that ceremony had lumps in their throats. For they were watching a miracle that is still unfolding. How proud his mother must have been. There were so many times when she was so afraid that her oldest would never make it to adulthood. But she was not any prouder than Brian`s sister Missy. Standing there as a bridesmaid, she must have known that her brother could never have stood there at that altar without that gift of her own bone marrow.
Truth really is stranger than fiction. Often we sufferers have a tendency to give up much too soon. I will keep that wedding invitation close at hand. And when life is hard or when I talk to someone having a difficult time, I will remember Brian and Rachel. But I will also remember his faithful mother and courageous sister. Who knows? If it happened to a boy like Brian and to those who loved him most, might not wonder and grace happen to us all?
