Joan Awald
In 1992, Joan Awald's life was about as perfect as it could be. Joan, her husband and their 11-year-old daughter had built a new home and were taking family trips together. Joan had recently finished her degree and had landed a new job. Then, over the course of just a few days, her life changed dramatically. Joan learned she had acute myelogenous leukemia. She was just 39 years old.
"It was the Fourth of July weekend. That Friday night, the third, I had chills and was shivering a lot despite the intense heat. And when I tried to climb the stairs at home that night I was so exhausted and short of breath I couldn't get up the stairs. It was like I was totally drained of every bit of energy," said Joan. "I couldn't figure it out. Up until that evening I had felt just fine and had always been in good health."
Joan's condition became worse so she checked into the emergency room. Her diagnosis was shocking.
"I was very startled to learn I had leukemia," said Joan. "On the other hand, I had had a feeling for some time that life had been going so good for me that eventually something was going to happen."
After her diagnosis, Joan was transferred to another hospital to start chemotherapy treatments to force her cancer into remission. During that treatment, she received blood transfusions. Once her cancer was in remission, Joan was transferred to the Mayo Clinic, and the search began for a bone marrow donor.
"Luckily, I come for a large family with five sisters. One-by-one they tested all of my sisters, and one-by-one each was eliminated. The last sister they tested was a perfect match for me."
Joan spent more than two months at the Mayo Clinic that fall. Thankfully, the bone marrow transplant worked and she was cured of her leukemia.
Today Joan is doing very well and works for the Brookings County Chapter of the American Red Cross. She says her only problem now is survivor guilt, because so many people don't find a cure for their leukemia.
"I am incredibly grateful to everyone who made it possible for me to survive," said Joan. "There wasn't a day that went by that I didn't realize there were a lot of people making personal sacrifices for me. Everyone from the blood donors, to people processing the blood and running the lab tests, the nurses at Mayo and the people in the bone marrow transplant program. I deeply, deeply appreciate all their efforts."