They like to say they’re related by blood, but they’ve never met.
Until this weekend, that is.
Back in 2012, Cody Jordan signed up for the bone marrow donation list in his hometown of Tupelo, Miss. A month later, he got a call he was a match.
He went in for the procedure, and his blood was sent off to a Canadian stranger.
“We’re related by blood. He saved my life, he’s my hero. He’s truly, truly my hero,” said Sheila Crotty of Rusagonis, N.B.
This weekend, she welcomed Jordan and his family to New Brunswick so they could meet for the first time.
Jordan said before meeting, the donation vaguely felt like he was helping, but “Meeting Sheila, it really solidifies the human impact our decisions can have.”
For Crotty, the meetup was emotional.
“I cried when I saw him come down. And I cry often when I look at him,” she said, wiping away tears as they embrace.
“Just so much excitement and so honoured for the gift and that you would come here. I feel that they’re family, him and his wife now,” she said.
It’s given her a new outlook on life, as she credits Jordan for her living to 60, getting to buy a home, and watching her granddaughter grow up.
“He’s given me my life back. I’m forever-ever-ever grateful,” Crotty said.
Simple process, donor says
Crotty, a veteran, was first diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2008, and again in 2011.
She underwent chemotherapy in 2012, but said she wasn’t getting any better. But soon after, she was alerted of a donor match.
Preparations were made, and a month later a nurse came running into her room with the blood.
“They put it on ice and they hung it up, and I said a prayer with my doctor, and then we became blood,” Crotty said as she looked over to Jordan and smiled.
But she had no idea who the donor was at the time.
Down in Mississippi, Jordan was preparing for his own wedding when he went in for the donation.
He said the process was simple and only took a few hours. He laid down and was injected with two needles, which ran his blood through a machine to collect stem cells, and then it reentered his body.
When the procedure was complete, a courier arrived to collect the blood and take it on a plane.
“All we knew at that time is it was going to Canada, which for being in Mississippi, that seemed pretty wild,” Jordan said.
“And who knows, maybe one day I’ll need a donation,” Jordan said, adding that he wishes people to consider joining the bone marrow donation list.
Trip a long time in the making
Bone marrow donation policy kept Crotty’s donor anonymous for a year, but when contact was provided, they soon got in touch.
“We’ve had such interesting conversations about our cultures and the differences between Canada and the United States,” Crotty said.
They’ve been speaking over Zoom before the meetup, and Crotty has even gotten to know his mother.
“I talk to his mom, like I wanted to plan all this stuff that they would be doing, and his mom said no, they’re just interested in seeing you,” Crotty said.
The trip has been memorable for Jordan, who said he’s enjoyed the eye-catching fall foliage and a break from the southern heat.
His accent has even stuck out to locals and Crotty alike.
“Oh we love it, we’re all saying y’all now!” she said.
The pair are already planning a Mississippi trip, and Jordan knows where he’ll take her first.
“There’s only one claim to fame for where I’m from in Tupelo, and that’s the birthplace of Elvis Presley.”