For 18-year-old leukemia survivor Elijah John, it was an encounter he never knew would come true.
On a sunny Saturday afternoon in August, the Brooklyn native and his family gathered at Pier 57 in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood to meet Nicholas Miranda Newberry, the man who donated bone marrow to save his life three years ago.
“He’s a godsend. The best way to put it is, Nicholas is a godsend,” said Elijah’s father, Carl Jung, a property manager in Brooklyn.
John was first diagnosed with leukemia in November 2020 at age 14 after suffering from a toothache that wouldn’t go away. After a trip to the dentist, he was eventually diagnosed with blood cancer and underwent several surgeries, his family told The Washington Post.
“He’s always been healthy. He wasn’t born healthy,” John’s father said. “We were starting to lose hope, to be honest.”
“For the first four months, the chemotherapy wasn’t working,” said John’s mother, Sean Tucker, a pharmacy technician from Queens. “It was one of the scariest moments of my life. I watched Elijah go through the chemotherapy, lose his hair, get sicker, and I just prayed.”
“It felt like I was locked in my room for months,” John said of the chemotherapy process. “I tried to ignore it, but then I started to miss my friends. I ghosted the whole world. I didn’t talk to anyone. I didn’t want anyone’s sympathy.”
According to his family, John’s hair and teeth fell out after he began chemotherapy – but before Miranda Newberry was found to be a match and John was given a “second chance at life”.
Miranda Newberry, 25, a Chicago resident and self-described world traveler, first signed up to donate bone marrow at age 18 after seeing an ad on social media for DKMS, a well-known blood cancer research nonprofit.
He first took a cheek swab test and mailed it to the organization, and four years later, Miranda Newberry (who has also been a plasma donor for the past two years) was contacted by DKMS to find out she was a match for John.
“The bone marrow transplant was difficult, but I made it through the whole process. [that by] “In doing so, I was able to save a life,” Donner told The Washington Post. “I honestly would love to do it again.”
“I’ve always been someone who wanted to help people like that,” he added.
Just before 5 p.m. on Saturday, John was nervously pacing the rooftop when he caught sight of the man who had saved his life. A big smile spread across his face and he held Miranda Newberry for a few minutes.
The emotional moment brought tears to John’s parents, who only a few years ago feared they might lose their son to blood cancer.
“[It’s] “I can’t believe it,” added Tucker, 51. “Words can’t even describe this moment. I never thought this day would come. I couldn’t wait to meet Nicholas.”
On Saturday, the boy presented Miranda Newberry with a commemorative plaque in appreciation of her memory, which read in full:
“Nicholas, [taking] I want to sincerely thank you for your incredible generosity in donating your bone marrow. Your selfless act has given me a new lease on life and I am so grateful. Your kindness and willingness to help strangers in need is truly inspiring. Thanks to you, I can look forward to a healthier future. Thank you for being my hero.”
The encounter comes at a time when John is embarking on a new phase in his life: an 18-year-old cancer survivor and aspiring engineer who will be entering the City College of New York in Brooklyn next week.
Miranda Newberry is also celebrating a new chapter, having recently celebrated her six-month wedding anniversary.
John and his family, including Miranda Newberry, said the donor experience built a lifelong bond not only between Elijah and Nicholas, but between both families. John’s family is now celebrating the anniversary of the bone marrow transplant to mark the Brooklyn teenager’s “new birth.”
“Elijah and Nick, it’s an amazing story and unfortunately things like this don’t happen very often because we don’t get enough people to sign up, so moments like this where you can actually see that journey from signing up to donating to real impact is really inspiring for a lot of people,” said DKMS spokesperson Maya Ward.
The spokesperson noted that someone in the United States is diagnosed with some form of blood cancer every three minutes, and 70 percent of blood cancer patients must rely on donors outside of their family.
“we [John’s story] “We hope that more people will be inspired to take the free cheek swab test and sign up because it really could save lives,” Ward added.
Adults aged 18 and above can register for the donor pool online through DKMS and request a swab kit. dkms.org.
“I wish there were more people like Nick. [sic]” added John’s father.
“I hope other families have that chance. I know there are a lot of people going through the same thing we are. God bless Nick.”
