What's in five hundred millilitres?

What is in five hundred milliliters?

There’s a genetic mutation in your
hematopoietic stem cells inter–
–fering in the making of your blood cells.

I see my cozy life come crashing down,
The tiniest things become the big things;
Erythrocyte lymphocyte leukocyte
kryptonite chemical radiation.

Death’s cloak from sulfuric smoke lingers next
my pillow, patiently waiting the reap.
A donation from the iliac crest
Might rescue me from the eternal rest.

I long for the gift from a future friend.

Murder the marrow to receive the blood.
Five hundred milliliters is my hope
                                                       help
                                                       life
                                                       future
                                                       resurrection.

** Thank you @farzam_yyz for your feedback on the lines above. It rings totally different now.

The Story Behind “What is in five hundred milliliters?”

In 2016 my friend’s child was diagnosed with leukemia. The big ‘C’ for a kid only seven years old. In one sunset they threw all their things into a suitcase and relocated their entire family to another city. The closest child cancer hospital was an hour flight away and splitting up was not an option. It was an entire year before I would see them again.

During that year, my life carried on as usual. New roommates moved in, we drank tea and watched Brooklyn 99. I had the privilege of distance. I could remain inoculated from my friend’s pain, scrolling past Facebook updates, happily contented in my own echo chamber. When I sent a quick “thinking of you” message, I felt like I’d done my part. What else could I do?

But for my friends, their lives would be anything but ’normal.’ They were in a new city. How could they continue to fulfill their employment responsibilities? What could they do to care for their child? The number of unknowns outweighed the knowns. They watched as their eldest underwent one blood transfusion and then another (more than 20 in total,) his little body became Dracula’s pin cushion.

I imagine it was a long waiting game, everyday its own mountain to climb. The only chance he had to get better was to receive a gift from a “future friend.”

Your blood and bone marrow are renewable and it has the potential to transform somebody else’s life. Helping is as simple as booking an appointment.