Darian Craig has neuroblastoma, a cancerous tumor that affects mostly infants — something she was diagnosed with as a small small child. Against all odds, she BEAT the 15% chance she had of surviving!
Sadly, that wasn’t the only problem: she spent the next 14 years of her life in and out of emergency rooms battling Behcet’s syndrome, a rare disorder that causes blood vessels to become inflamed! Not only did she have to have radiation treatments, but she had to have chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant as well. She is one HELL of a fighter.
She was then diagnosed with Myelodysplastic Syndrome, a rare blood and bone marrow failure disorder, after she had beaten everything else. She was going to need a lot of help to beat this, and they found the perfect match to do it — Evander Holyfield Jr.! You might know his dad, the boxer and champion?
YEAH!
Here’s what Evander Jr. said:
“I was trying to impress a girl at the time, so I ended up attending this donor event, not even thinking I could save a life. But when I got the swab, I got this feeling that I would be a match.”
Less than a year later, Darian had what she needed! The two met for the first time on May 1, at the Delete Blood Cancer’s seventh annual gala in New York City — which you can watch how emotional it was (above)!
This is SO inspiring, and we hope others become donors after seeing this!!