Michele Bresnick Walsh and Lindsey Ledwin Share Their Stories
Michele Bresnick Walsh and Lindsey Ledwin Share Their Stories
Read Michele Bresnick Walsh and Lindsey Ledwin’s touching stories on their battle to overcome blood cancer.
Board Member, Past President
CEO, Gordon Feinblatt LLC
Q: Can you share a little bit about your blood cancer diagnosis?
A: I was diagnosed with AML (acute myeloid leukemia) in October 2008, and because I had a gene mutation, they knew that chemotherapy alone would not be able to keep me in remission—I needed a bone marrow transplant. My sister was not even a quarter match, so they knew we’d have to look to the national registry to find my match.
Q: Can you share a little bit about your bone marrow transplant and your donor?
A: They told me in January that they had found a perfect match, and after 4 different rounds of chemo and a battle with pneumonia, 5 months after my diagnosis I received my bone marrow transplant on March 4, 2009. We didn’t know anything about the donor other than it was a female. I had completed the paperwork stating I’d like to meet my donor when the required year period was up. I never heard back. In the meantime, a friend of mine from my high school years was Chairman of the Board of the Gift of Life and he had invited me to be his guest as his table at an event where donors and recipients were introduced.
Q: Do you have a relationship with your donor?
A: A few days before the event, he [Chairman of the Board of the Gift of Life] called and said, “How would you like to meet your donor at the event?”—it turns out she had swabbed through his organization, so she was in their database. I got to meet her at the event in NYC and it was an amazing experience —at the time she was 34 years old and lived in Los Angeles. Since that time, we met up when she was in DC, we went on vacation together in the Bahamas, and I got to attend her wedding a few years later.
Board Member
Partner, The Tiber Creek Group
Q: What was your official diagnosis and treatment process?
A: In September 2018, I was diagnosed with CML (Chronic Myeloid Leukemia). The diagnosis marked the start of a challenging road to recovery. All of the chemo treatments failed me. I was constantly having to start over which was extremely difficult. After the failed treatments my medical team told me I would need a bone marrow transplant as there was no other form of treatment for CML.
Q: Who was your support system during your cancer journey?
A: My family and friends played a pivotal role in my journey. They supported me through my physical and mental struggles. My family had their own set of challenges as caregivers. It was a shared experience, but I realized that their perspective was different.
While we went through my fight against blood cancer together, I was experiencing the mental and physical pain firsthand while my parents were watching their child go through this. I would also be remiss if I didn’t mention the support of my colleagues and close clients.
Q: How did you make it through such hard times during your diagnosis?
A: Every day I would tell myself, “Tomorrow is a new day.” In the face of adversity, it helped me regroup and move forward with a positive attitude. No matter how challenging the present moment was, it reminded me that there was hope for a better tomorrow. I truly believe your mental state is half the battle when it comes to beating cancer— you cannot give up.
Q: How were you connected to There Goes My Hero?
A: I was connected with Hero through mutual friends and our shared hometown. What attracted me was the immediate impact Hero has on patients. When people donate to Hero, there’s a direct return on investment, whether it’s adding to the national bone marrow registry through swabbing at drives, assisting patients and families with meals or when There Goes My Hero serves meals to patients at the Johns Hopkins Hackerman-Patz Patient and Family Pavilion, a place that became my home during my blood cancer treatment.
Board members Michele and Lindsey gave us the honor of sharing these inspiring stories with us. Their journeys, filled with resilience, challenges, hope and perseverance, show us the strength of many cancer survivors. This National Cancer Survivors Month, There Goes My Hero, appreciates everyone who has overcome their battles with cancer. At TGMH, we strive to improve the lives of blood cancer patients whether through hosting bone marrow registry drives to making meals for patients and caregivers staying at Hackerman-Patz.
Like Michele and Lindsey, we invite you to share your story to motivate others. Together, we can create a community of love and support. Fill out the Share Your Story form with Hero and potentially have your story featured on our website, social media, or newsletter.