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It
was a joyful moment in time … a moment when time seems to stand still as
emotions well inside you as tears fill your eyes. It was the moment when
10-year-old Selena Garza met Gus Reyes, the bone marrow donor who saved her
life.
This magical moment was made possible through the efforts of the LifeSource
Bone Marrow Department, the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP), Abbott
Molecular, and the unselfish gift of a stranger.
 It all started in March of 2006 when Garza, who hails from Texas, was
diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). A bone marrow transplant
was her only hope. No one in her family was a match so she had to rely on
the generosity of a stranger to save her life.
Meanwhile, on March 7, 2006, LifeSource held a blood and bone marrow drive
at Abbott Molecular in Des Plaines. Reyes, 34, a regular platelet donor,
decided to join the registry. His initial test results arrived on May 8 – he
was a potential donor for an 8-year-old girl suffering from ALL. “When they
told me I would be helping a little girl, I was overwhelmed with emotion,”
Reyes said. “My thoughts went to my own 9-year-old son and how thankful I
would be for someone to help him were he in the same position.”
Within two weeks additional tests determined Reyes was a perfect match. He
donated his marrow on Aug. 17 and she received his gift the next day. Now
Garza celebrates two birthdays: July 18, the day of her birth, and Aug. 18,
the day Gus Reyes gave her life.
Because of his unselfish gift, today Garza is a typical 10-year-old who
loves the color pink, High School Musical, Bratz dolls, Hanna Montana and
playing with her Tigger stuffed animal that has stayed by her side
throughout her ordeal. The two couldn’t meet for one-year but they were able
to correspond through letters forwarded by the NMDP. “I’m 9 years old and
I’m a female,” Garza wrote in one letter. “Thank you so much f or helping me
get well so I can play again like I use to when all of this didn’t happen.”
The LifeSource Bone Marrow Department worked with Abbott Molecular to
arrange for the Garza family to meet Reyes in person. On Oct. 22 at Abbott,
in front of 200 guests and a multitude of TV and newspaper reporters, the
Garza family was finally able to thank the humble hero that saved Selena.
The Garza family waited at the front of the room as Jeff Chell, President of
NMPD, asked Reyes to step forward to meet Selena. The camera flashes were as
blinding as the smiles on their faces.
“I prayed to God everyday. Please don’t take her away … she’s too little,”
Selena’s mom Elena said as she choked back the tears. “If it hadn’t been for
you, I wouldn’t have my little girl.”
Selena gave Reyes a great big hug and said, “Thank you for giving my life
back to me.”
Reyes summed up the experience best when he said, “It’s a miracle from God.”
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