FEELING JOY DOWN TO THEIR MARROW.Byline: DENNIS McCARTHY Dennis McCarthy may refer to:
ENCINO - The year was up, and now they would finally meet - the woman who had given life and the man who had received it. Lori Drabkin sat on the aisle in the back row of Valley Beth Shalom Valley Beth Shalom is a Conservative Synagogue in Encino, Los Angeles, California. With over 1,800 member families[1] it is one of the largest synagogues in Los Angeles and one of the largest Conservative synagogues in the United States. in Encino on Friday night listening to Marc Fremed emotionally thank more than 200 friends and family who had come to help him celebrate this major milestone - the one-year anniversary of his bone marrow transplant bone marrow transplant: see bone marrow. . It was a big night for the 31-year-old consumer advocate attorney because now he was free to contact the woman who had saved his life. The City of Hope prohibits donors and donees from learning each other's identities and meeting for one year after the operation because the hospital doesn't want an emotional attachment to form, in case the transplant operation fails. But it hadn't failed for Fremed. He was still here, still alive, and thanking all these friends for their love and support this past year when his life hung in the balance. ``If there is anything I have learned, it is how precious life is, and how important it is to be thankful thank·ful adj. 1. Aware and appreciative of a benefit; grateful. 2. Expressive of gratitude: a thankful smile. for being alive,'' he said, pausing. In a voice choked choke v. choked, chok·ing, chokes v.tr. 1. To interfere with the respiration of by compression or obstruction of the larynx or trachea. 2. a. with emotion, he said he was anxiously looking forward to meeting the woman who had made this night possible. He didn't know her name or where she lived, but he would find out. Marc didn't know it as he talked, but his mother and father, Ellen and Richard Fremed of Winnetka, had already talked to her a few days earlier, and brought her to this celebration as a surprise to their son. Her name was Lori Drabkin, a 31-year-old social worker living in Alameda Alameda (ăləmē`də, –mā`də), city (1990 pop. 76,459), Alameda co., W central Calif., on an island just off the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay; settled 1850, inc. as a city 1884. , who was now sitting on the aisle in the back row, crying softly as she listened to a young man talk about how precious life is. She was finally putting a face on the man her bone marrow bone marrow, soft tissue filling the spongy interiors of animal bones. Red marrow is the principal organ that forms blood cells in mammals, including humans (see blood). In children, the bones contain only red marrow. had saved, waiting for the moment Richard Fremed would introduce her, and she would jump up from her seat, literally flying down the aisle to hug Fremed while 200 people stood applauding and wiping See wipe. away tears. ``It was just such an emotional moment for all of us,'' Lori said, later. ``I felt like the last piece of the puzzle was put in place and it was finally complete - seeing the person you were so connected to for such a long time.'' It was tough waiting this year out to meet, but they both understood why it was necessary. ``Had we connected before, and Marc didn't make it, it would have been too emotional for me to take,'' she said. ``I think I would have felt guilty, like I let him down.'' She won't lie, Lori says. There was some pain and physical discomfort involved in giving bone marrow, but it was nothing - absolutely nothing, she stressed - compared with the joy she felt finally meeting the man her bone marrow saved. ``When you realize you are giving somebody a chance to live who wouldn't have had that chance, no amount of pain or discomfort can compare to the overwhelming joy - it's not even close,'' she said. Lori and Marc talked late into Friday night about their families and lives, and on Saturday they visited City of Hope in Duarte. ``I introduced her to all my doctors and showed her the grounds,'' Marc said. ``She is such a kind, generous person - exactly the person I thought she would be when we finally met. ``I was lucky,'' he added. ``I live at the right time when medical science is able to do something for me. I think of all the people who passed away from cancer only because they didn't live at the right time. ``Without wonderful, giving people like Lori joining the National Marrow Donor program The National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) is a nonprofit organization based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, that operates the federally funded registry of volunteer hematopoietic cell donors in the United States. These potential donors, numbering more than 6. , a lot of cancer survivors Cancer survivors are those individuals with cancer of any type, current or past, who are still living. The National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS) pioneered the definition of survivor as from the time of diagnosis and for the balance of life, a person diagnosed with wouldn't be celebrating life today,'' he said. For more information on becoming a bone marrow donor, call Jill Kendall, City of Hope donor coordinator, at (626) 359-8111, Ext. 63253. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Marc Fremed, recipient of bone marrow donated do·nate v. do·nat·ed, do·nat·ing, do·nates v.tr. To present as a gift to a fund or cause; contribute. v.intr. To make a contribution to a fund or cause. by Lori Drabkin, shows her photos of him taken while he was hospitalized for the transplant last year. Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer |
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