Simply put, I have never met anyone like Emily.  This spectacular young woman has been fighting against acute myeloid leukemia since October 2004.  Because of the nature of her disease, and the nature of the chemotherapy required, Emily lived on our inpatient oncology ward for nearly 8 straight months.  That’s 8 months of being poked and prodded at all hours, 8 months of pumps and monitors alarming, 8 months of medications and chemotherapy, and 8 months away from friends and family in southern California.  Imagine 8 months in a tiny room, 7 stories up, in a city that’s not your home, fighting for your life. 

During her time in the hospital, we all came to realize exactly how special Emily is.  She exudes an aura of calm and thoughtfulness that touches everyone around her.  I have never heard her complain, and I have never seen or heard her wallow in self-pity.  Instead, I’ve been witness to demonstrations of empathy for others, a seemingly endless well of kindness, and a degree of maturity unmatched by many adults that I know.  Knowing Emily’s parents, it is not hard to see where she inherited these traits from.  Her parents have been beacons of strength and guidance for so many other families on the ward. 

Emily and her parents have been cared for by just about every pediatric oncology physician at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and has taught us all a great deal about what it means to face adversity.  We all cheered her when she was discharged home last May after completing her chemotherapy.  And we all shared in her pain and disappointment when she returned to us this winter after her disease recurred.  She has been in the hospital since December, and is hoping to find a bone marrow donor match in order to save her life.

Emily’s fight to find a bone marrow donor has inspired dozens and dozens of people from around the country to host bone marrow drives on her behalf.  As a result, there are thousands and thousands of new people in the National Marrow Donor Program registry.  You can see a clip from CBS4 News in Boston about Emily’s effort to locate a donor.  Also, you can find out about upcoming marrow drives by clicking here.  I have no doubt that Emily has triggered a chain of events that will change the world.  The fact that she has inspired so many others to join the National Marrow Donor Program registry in an effort to help her find a donor will ultimately lead to new bone marrow donors, and thus the saving of lives. 

There is a word that comes to my mind when I think of Emily: equanimity.  This word was used by the legendary physician, Sir William Osler, as the title of his historic essay Aequanimitas.  In this essay, Osler states that one of the highest virtues that a physician can develop is that of equanimity - the personal quality of calmly accepting whatever comes in life.  Emily has embodied this virtue every since I met her, and probably since long before then, as well or better than any physician I know.  In his essay, Osler quotes Marcus Aurelius and in doing so, I think that he beautifully describes Emily’s essence:

        “Thou must be like a promontory of the sea, against which, though the waves beat continually,

          yet it both itself stands, and about it are those swelling waves stilled and quieted"

Please click here to make a donation today in honor of Emily.  The money you contribute will directly support the pediatric oncology programs at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Children’s Hospital Boston.  Also, if you are interested in joining the National Marrow Donor Program registry (you could save someone’s life), please click here for information.

6/1/06 Update: