A beautiful morning greeted runners and walkers on Sunday January 16, 2022, as Gift of Life held its 12th annual Steps for Life 5k Run & Walk of South Florida. More than 400 participants and supporters gathered at the Florida Atlantic University campus for the event. The high point of the morning was the emotional moment when a leukemia survivor met the young woman whose blood stem cell donation saved her life.
The event raised more than $240,000 to add new blood stem cell and marrow donors to the registry, so the lives of those battling blood cancer, sickle cell, and inherited immune disorders can be saved.
Anticipation was high as the moment approached when stem cell transplant recipient Rebekah Stover would meet the Gift of Life donor who saved her life.
Rebekah, a 36-year-old former Medical Lab Technician with the U.S. Air Force, was stationed in Washington State when she began running a persistent fever. A blood test revealed that she was battling Acute Myeloid Leukemia, and doctors recommended a blood stem cell transplant as her best hope of recovery. During her treatment she had amazing support from her wife Brittany, who stayed with her in the hospital, and her parents drove across the country from Florida to take care of their house and four pets.
“I never thought I would get cancer at such a young age,” said Rebekah. A stem cell transplant was her best chance of recovery – she was on the worldwide marrow registry herself – and she was thrilled when her donor was found so quickly through Gift of Life.
Nicole Fierro, 23, joined the registry in 2018 while attending Syracuse University. The young lady who swabbed her, Sydney Kirsch, was not only her best friend, she was serving as a Gift of Life Campus Ambassador. Having just run a drive at a pizza parlor, Sydney had a few kits left over and invited her friends to swab, including Nicole (left).
“When I learned I was a match I ran to tell my parents,” said Nicole. “I started crying out of excitement! I could not wait to get the process started.”
The transplant was completed in May 2020, but donors and recipients cannot meet for at least a year following the transplant, to protect their privacy, and the COVID-19 pandemic has delayed the ability of donors and recipient to meet in person.
Finally, it was time for the two women to meet, and Sydney, who travelled to Florida for the special event, was given the honor of introducing them.
Nicole and Rebekah shared a long hug, and were clearly filled with joy and excitement.
“There are no words that can describe it,” said Rebekah. “When I hugged her, I just felt that electricity, just two souls finally meeting that are the same.”
“It was honestly probably one of the best moments of my life to date,” said Nicole. “She is someone that I’m going to be connected with physically and emotionally.”
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Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer (above, left) kicked off the event with a warm welcome, and emphasized how important it is to be a member of the registry.
Alexa Aronson (above center), a two-time finalist in the Gift of Life’s Got Talent contest, sang the national anthem, with youngsters Brian Greenspon and Zachary Karasik displaying the colors.
X102.3 Radio personality Don Chris (above, right) served as the master of ceremonies for the day, a role he has filled for Gift of Life several times in the past. Thank you, Don!
Steps for Life founders and co-chairs Dana Aberman, Donna Krasner and Wendy Schulman (above) shared the Steps for Life story.
To launch the race portion of the event, a swarm of amazing superheroes lined up to run the Superhero Sprint. Every one of Gift of Life’s mini-heroes received a bright orange cape to wear while running the 50-yard dash. The Petting Zoo was incredibly popular, with kids having the opportunity to meet and pet barnyard animals as well as Peruvian alpacas!
Participants from all over South Florida ran, walked or cheered people on, with walkers following the 5k runners out of the starting line to follow the course around the beautiful Florida Atlantic University campus.
The top male finishers were Karl Glick, Russell Weisz, and Mikey Cardona. Top female finishers were Lee Depietro, Lola Meehan, and Gema Bayas.
Click here for the full race results at the racetecresults.com website.
Gift of Life thanks our generous sponsors for their support of Steps for Life, including CBRE, McKesson, Rubius Therapeutics, The Aberman Zalaznick Foundation, Brown & Brown Insurance, Goody Two Shoes, Lennar, Ranfac, and many more. Your involvement with our mission helps to save lives.
As the event wrapped up, Don Chris reminded the crowd that, “It only takes one person to save a life, and you have the power within you to be someone’s cure.”
Patients in need who do not have a match in their family have the best chance of finding a donor through the international bone marrow registry. To become a volunteer donor, please visit www.giftoflife.org/register. While not every donor is called as a match, you may someday be given the miraculous chance to save another person’s life.
Click here to view the event photo gallery.
Click here to watch Nicole and Rebekah’s emotional first meeting!
We look forward to seeing you at the
Steps for Life 5k of South Florida
in January 2023