My mom fought cancer many times and for many years. In the ‘90s, my mom had her first battle with cancer. I was in 5th grade, I think, and remember her being sick. I remember going wig shopping with her, I remember multiple of my parents’ friends bringing groceries and helping anyway they could as both my mom and my dad (who had MS) were physically unable to do certain things.

In between her cancer battles, my mom worked full time. When I say full time, I really mean 24/7 as she worked her 9-5 job, and then was a carergiver to my dad.

I remember sometime around 2008, my mom and I were at the mall. We would go to the mall a lot. I remember my mom kept getting tired and would need to sit on one of the benches for a little bit. This was not normal. Soon after, the leukemia diagnosis came.

She underwent a bone marrow transplant, and despite the prognosis being grim, she survived. She continued to fight AML off and on for the next 15 years.

She was able to fight for so long because of blood and platelet donations. Because she was able to receive life saving blood transfusions and platelet transfusions, she was gifted extra years with her family – most importantly her grands.

Blood and Platelet donations are vital. Please join me this May, my mom’s birthday month, to give back to others in need.