Russell Jewel:

The Taming Of The Dragons

When Russell Jewell received the call from an NMDP donor center on October 6, 1995, little did he know that soon he would save a life. "The lady on the phone began to explain that I had been identified as a preliminary match to be a bone marrow donor for a female baby less than four months old. I could not believe my ears. Potentially, I was going to have an opportunity to give something back to someone who was battling Kilo, (Kilo, is the dragon depicted in the artwork for July 2000 of this calendar. Kilo symbolizes the dreaded diseases that require a marrow transplant). It was as if I was going to be able to hand this young baby Sir Nic's sword of defense. She was so close to my own daughter's age."

After more testing, Jewell found out he was a perfect match for the baby who was suffering from aplastic anemia. Because of the NMDP confidentiality policy, Jewell was unable to meet the recipient for at least the first year after the transplant. However, Jewell did communicate to the child's family through letters.

The following excerpt was taken from a letter written by Jewell to the recipient, "There is nothing I'd rather be doing this Thanksgiving season than donating bone marrow for your daughter. Your daughter and I obviously have a special, scientific connection, but the depth of this connection has somehow surpassed the realm of science. You see, on Wednesday, after the bone marrow harvest, I will be walking out of the hospital three years to the day that I walked into the hospital with my own two-year-old son who was in a similar life threatening situation. Today, my son is a wonderful 5-year-old kindergarten student."