Courtesy Photo | Pfc. Ted Bonham, 20, of Clarksville, Tenn., poses with a specimen of stem-cell rich...... read more read more
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Fairfax, Va.- In February 2010, Pfc. Ted Bonham received a phone call that could help save the life of a complete stranger.
The call was to inform Bonham, 20, of Clarksville, Tenn., he was a match to donate bone marrow to a retired soldier in need of a life-saving donation to combat a rare form of leukemia.
Bonham, an intelligence analyst with the 489th Civil Affairs Battalion, an Army Reserve unit based in Knoxville, Tenn., had signed up for the C.W. Bill Young Department of Defense Bone Marrow Donor Program in September 2008 during intelligence analyst training at Fort Huachuca, Ariz. Bonham recalled telling the nurse as he signed up, “Watch me be the one to get picked.”
Although the donation process meant that Bonham, a self described needle-phobic, would have to undergo a series of twice-a-day hormone injections to stimulate stem cell production, Bonham said his decision to follow through with the donation was easy.
“My dad has always taught me that if someone is in need, help them,” said Bonham.
The donation process started in early June, after Bonham travelled to Inova Fairfax Hospital in Fairfax, Va., for a physical exam and to have blood drawn.
Later that month, Bonham returned to Inova Fairfax to start the week-long donation procedure. Accompanying Bonham on the trip was his roommate, William Jamin Etling, a nurse at a Clarksville medical clinic.
“My father could not come, so I asked my roommate to come with me. I wanted someone with a medical background there,” Bonham said.
Etling, who has been in the medical field for 18 years, said he is proud of Bonham.
“There are few things in life that actually help people. And this is one of them,” said Etling.
The hormone injections caused Bonham’s bones to swell, as newly produced stem cells formed in his blood stream. After four days of injections, Bonham had gained 22 pounds.
“The injections hurt like hell. It felt like fire going in,” said Bonham.
The donation procedure culminated July 1, when medical officials hooked Bonham up to a machine that extracted the stem cells, which aid bone marrow production in the recipient.
“It’s very painful. But, knowing I am saving someone’s life overshadows the pain,” said Bonham.
The recipient is unidentified. Under donor program rules, the donor and recipient must remain anonymous to each other for one year. After that, the recipient may choose to contact the donor.
“The only thing that I know is that he is a 66-year-old veteran overseas,” said Bonham.
After the procedure, Bonham learned that the machine he was hooked up to actually cycled his entire blood supply four or five times. Now a week into his recuperation, Bonham said he is still a little sore in the bones but is proud to have lost nine pounds. His donation coordinator will follow up with him every two to three weeks to check his recovery process.
Despite the pain he has had to endure as part of his recovery process, Bonham likened his donation to the duty that goes along with serving in the military.
“In my mind it’s no different than being called to war. It’s just a different way to be called to service,” said Bonham.
Established in 1990, the C.W. Bill Young Department of Defense Bone Marrow Donor Program recruits DOD personnel and dependents to participate in the National Bone Marrow Donor Program. Since the national program’s inception, more than six million Americans, including more than 400,000 service members, have registered as marrow donors. For more information, visit http://dodmarrow.org.
| Date Taken: | 07.01.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 07.11.2010 21:52 |
| Story ID: | 52682 |
| Location: | FAIRFAX, VA, US |
| Web Views: | 526 |
| Downloads: | 172 |
This work, 489th Civil Affairs Battalion soldier donates marrow to save veteran, by SSG Jeff Daniel, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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