A track-and-field star from the University of New Hampshire is being hailed a hero for giving up a chance to compete in the championships—all to save a stranger’s life.
Cameron Lyle, a track-and-field student athlete, forgot he had his cheek swabbed by Be The Match at the University of New Hampshire cafeteria, until he received a call two years later in 2013.
Lyle was informed that he was a match for a 28-year-old man with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. That man, a father of a 19-month-old girl, was given less than six months to live.
He had no second thoughts about donating; however, the surgery would fall on April 25—a month before the end of his collegiate athletic career. Should he retire early to save a life?
For Lyle, the decision was a complete no-brainer even though it meant missing the America East Conference championships and the Penn Relays.
“Life is a lot more important than that,” Lyle told ABC News.
On April 25, 2013, at Boston’s Massachusetts General Hospital, a needle was inserted into his pelvis over 200 times to extract 2 liters of bone marrow, reported the Boston Globe.
The pain was all worth it. Three months after the transplant, the recipient was cancer-free.
“Three days of pain is nothing compared to what this guy is going through,” Lyle told UNH Today.
“He is my hero,” Lyle’s mom, Christine Sciacca, said.
“People say he only gave up track,” Lyle’s coach, Jim Boulanger, told Boston Globe. “But no, it’s more than that. You give up championships. This was his shot.
“But he gave it up for the right reason. And in the end, he contributed to our athletic programs as an athlete, and as a student, and now as a person. You can’t ask for more than that.”
Lyle’s selfless sacrifice gifted one father with a second chance at life.
If you had the opportunity to save someone’s life, would you do it?
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