News We Love: Father receives the gift of life from daughter
Just over a week away from Father's Day, a daughter has given her dad the greatest gift he could ever ask for: the gift of life.
Michael Shore and his daughter, Angela Shore, have always been close.
"We share a lot of fun memories and good times together," Angela said.
So last August, when Michael learned he had leukemia, they were both hit hard by the news.
"It's heavy," Angela said. "It's quite heavy, you know."
"You never expect the cancer word, or leukemia," Michael said.
"And all that felt chaotic," Angela said. "There was a lot going on at the time, and my stepfather also has cancer, so hearing my dad did, too — it was a heavy blow."
Angela wanted to help her father — so she did.
She donated her own stem cells to her dad for an allogeneic stem cell transplant.
"It was just whoever was the best match — whether that be me or a stranger across the world," Angela said. "I just wanted the best chances for him."
"It was a blessing," Michael said. "And she's been there with me the whole time."
It was the first time the procedure had been done at Novant's Forsyth Medical Center, located in North Carolina. In this procedure, someone else's stem cells are taken from a matching donor and given to the patient. Transplanted stem cells help to "rescue" the bone marrow lost during cancer treatment by replacing the body’s stem cells.
"You never know what to expect in life," Michael said. "But that’s one thing I never did expect — and she didn’t hesitate. To me, she's the best."
Doctors say without the procedure, the likelihood of Michael relapsing would be about 85%.
"Without the procedure, there's only a 15 percent chance he'd live longer than three years with this type of leukemia," said Novant Health's Dr. James Dugan.
"I'm grateful to have helped him, for sure," Angela said. "There's a sense of relief that we've made it this far — and I feel like, throughout the whole process, we both had faith he would make it through no matter what."
In addition to giving the greatest gift, she's walking away with one of the greatest lessons, too.
"Let the people you love know you love them," Angela said. "Because you never know when you may not have that chance."
Because of the procedure, Michael learned last week that he is now in remission.
He still has good days and bad days, and he's now focusing on getting his platelet counts back up.
