15-year old Morgan Hewitt, the youngest of five siblings, was diagnosed in September with a rare form of leukemia and is in need of a lifesaving bone marrow transplant. After learning that their sister needed a transplant, her brothers and sisters were tested to see if they could potentially be Morgan’s matching donor Despite only a 25% chance of being a match, it was discovered they all were!
Although Morgan won’t need a volunteer donor in the worldwide marrow registry for her transplant, her family has chosen to work with Gift of Life Marrow Registry to recruit donors for patients who are not so fortunate and are still searching. Barbara Hewitt, Morgan’s mother, hopes that by sharing her daughter’s story the family will inspire people 18 – 35 years old to join the registry and give those in dire need a second chance at life.
Morgan’s Story
On September 9, 2020, Morgan began experiencing pain consistent with wisdom teeth coming in. Ten days later she visited her family dentist who confirmed that her wisdom teeth were coming in. The dentist prescribed painkillers and heavy antibiotics, and she was referred to an oral surgeon. Within three days of taking the antibiotics and painkillers, Morgan spiked a very high fever of 102.4. On September 21, she was diagnosed with the adult form of Acute Myeloid Leukemia which is not common in children.
Morgan received an early Christmas present though when she learned all five of her siblings were a match for her. “When I saw the paperwork, I started to cry, because I was scared I wouldn’t have any matches,” said Morgan. “I saw all five of my siblings matched me. It was like a miracle.”
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