The holiday season is all about giving, though some gifts are bigger than others.
In Joe Pawlowski’s case, giving the gift of life through donating bone marrow to someone he had never met before is as big as it gets.
A bone marrow transplant can save the life of someone battling leukemia, lymphoma or other blood cancers. Each year, leukemia kills more children than any other cancer, and 70 percent of patients in need of a marrow transplant do not have a matching donor in their family.
To register as a bone marrow donor, a person swabs the inside of his or her cheek to provide the DNA needed to identify if he or she is a bone marrow match for someone.
Pawlowski, the former class of 2013 Seneca High School football standout who grew up in Shamong, is now playing at the collegiate level for Lycoming College. This is where Pawlowski got involved with the Be The Match program.
Former Bucknell University Head Football Coach Tim Landis is now the recruiting coordinator for Lycoming where he also handles the quarterbacks on the field.
Along with his football savvy, he brought his knowledge of the program to his new school and introduced it to the team with the intention of having them promote it. Pawlowski not only promoted the program, he got involved in it.
After being placed on the registry, he was told he might be contacted within the next few months, years or not at all.
Pawlowski went on to go through a number of doctor’s appointments that entailed a multitude of tests including blood work. He was then made aware he had matched with someone and was given the option of donating bone marrow to this person to help save their life.
“I was really just playing the odds, to be honest. The odds of me getting picked were so small that when I found out I did, it was kind of hard to say no,” Pawlowski said.
The program is private in the sense that he was not given much information about the man he would be donating to, just received his age, disease type and country.
However, Pawlowski did mention the donor’s family sent him letters of appreciation before he went into surgery.
“Those were special,” Pawlowski said.
Before the surgery took place, Pawlowski had to go through some pre-surgery procedures the day before his game against Delaware Valley College on Nov. 7.
Pawlowski was still able to play in that game and help his team record a much-needed victory.
However, the surgery was then scheduled for the following Saturday during his final game of the season against Misericordia College on Nov. 14, so he was forced to miss the season finale.
Though it was tough for him to not be there for his teammates, he was assured it would be worth it in the end.
“It’s pretty surreal. For a while, it was hard to even realize what I had done. I just kind of walked out of the doctor’s office with my back hurting not really knowing the magnitude of it,” Pawlowski said. “Now, looking back on it, I realize the impact, and it’s become something that was all very worth it.”
He could not say enough about how much his friends and family supporting him helped him through the process.
“That’s really what helped me kind of figure it out as far as making my final decision,” Pawlowski said.
“As parents, you teach your children right from wrong and manners and hope that these things sink in, but when your child comes to you and says he is going to do such a generous thing, it takes your breath away!” his mother Kate said. “I am more than proud of him.”
The former Burlington County second-team all-conference selection plans to be back out on the field for his senior season at full strength next year, as bone marrow typically replaces itself within four to six weeks after donation.
He also plans to obtain his degree in business and marketing at graduation in the spring of 2017 and eventually pursue a career in the field of advertisement.
