David Harrell - “Stronger Every Day”

David Harrell, Ocean Isle Beach, NC

In January of 1999, David Harrell of Ocean Isle Beach was scheduled to have knee surgery. But a pre-admission blood test showed an unusually high white blood cell count. After some additional testing, doctors discovered he was in the early stages of leukemia.

David received several different types of drugs, but none of them had much of a long-term effect. After a few months, his doctor sent him to one of the country's largest leukemia centers out-of-state. "They ran all kinds of tests and said I had only three or four months to live unless I had a bone marrow transplant," Harrell says.

Although he knew he needed the procedure, David did not want to continue treatments at the leukemia center. “They do wonderful things out there, but it's so big and busy that we felt like cattle going through there.”

Harrell's oncologist in Wilmington then suggested he go to the cancer specialists at UNC. From day one in Chapel Hill, “I was treated like family. It was such a big contrast to the other hospital.”

The UNC transplant program coordinator searched the international bone marrow donor database for a match. In April 2002, Harrell received an infusion of marrow cells from a young Michigan woman. After the transplant, Harrell remained in the hospital for three weeks, fighting infections and other complications.

Today, he's feeling better and stronger every day. He says he remains in awe of the skill, the teamwork and the compassion of everyone who took care of him at UNC. “They think of everything, and they do everything they can for you. I felt like they were giving me the same attention they would give one of their brothers. I wasn't just a patient to them; I was a person they cared about.”

Jeannie Harrell was impressed and grateful. “The cancer care team at UNC doesn't just treat the patient; they treat the entire family. They go the extra mile for everybody.”