Bernard Llave led an extremely active life - from running marathons to doing CrossFit and participating in obstacle races, he was the ultimate weekend warrior.
Bernard began to feel extreme fatigue around the same time he developed a tooth infection that wouldn’t heal, followed by fevers and night sweats. Bernard was soon after diagnosed with leukemia, specifically acute myelogenous leukemia, or AML.
After a successful round of chemotherapy that put his AML into remission, Len Farol, MD, bone marrow transplant physician at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center, recommended he consider getting a bone marrow transplant.
But donors can be hard to come by, particularly for minorities. Due to a donor shortage, 120,000 people a year wait on transplant lists, and 18 people on these lists die each day. But Bernard was one of the lucky ones; his sister was found to be a perfect match. He received his transplant on October 10, 2012.
Bernard struggled with the idea of not being able to get his physical strength back, but encouragement from those around him helped him get back on his feet. He credits his Crossfit family, particularly his coach Mark Lin, his Kaiser Permanente care team, and Dr. Farol for helping him make him physically and mentally strong again.
For more information about bone marrow donation and how to become a donor, visit kp.org or www.bethematch.org.
