Girl Meets Bone Marrow Donor Who Saved Her Life, Can't Help But Break Down in Tears
According to BeTheMatch.org, “Every three minutes someone in the United States is diagnosed with a blood cancer like leukemia. For many, their only hope for a cure is a bone marrow transplant.”
This is why donors are so important. We often see stories about family members who were not a match for a sick loved one, and that a complete stranger had to step in to save that person’s life.
In one case, that complete stranger was 25-year-old Alyssa Kohls. The Wisconsin native and surgical nurse is the reason an 11-year-old girl is alive today.
Laynie Houser lives in Sinton, Texas, with her parents, Patrick and Holly, and her brother. The young girl was diagnosed with aplastic anemia — a rare blood disorder — at the age of 7.
Laynie desperately needed a bone marrow transplant. Corpus Christi Caller Times reported the Houser Family was living “transfusion to transfusion.”
“It’s basically like living in a bubble,” Patrick Houser told the Times. “Those were trying, hard times before [the] transplant.”
But then, a miracle occured. A bone marrow donor through Be the Match was a perfect “match” for Laynie. That match was Kohls, who had signed up to be a donor a year and a half before the transplant.
“It’s just inspiring,” Kohls told the Times. “She’s so young and she’s gone through so much, and I’m just so happy that I could be a part of her journey…”
“Words can never describe what she means to us,” Holly Houser wrote on Facebook in 2018. “We are beyond thankful and grateful for what she has done for us.”
Connected by such a life-changing gift across the miles, it was only a matter of time until the two met in person.
That day came in April 2019. “I’m just really excited to see her,” Laynie told KRIS-TV while anxiously awaiting the moment Kohls would arrive at Corpus Christi International Airport.
When the two finally embraced, the moment couldn’t have been sweeter. “Alyssa didn’t just save Laynie,” Holly told the Times. “She saved all of us and she gave us hope and she gave us a future.”
If you would like to learn more about Be the Match and what it means to become a life-saving donor, visit their website.
Liftable, a brand of The Western Journal, reached out to Holly Houser and Alyssa Kohls for comment, but has not heard back at this time.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
