A Sioux Falls man is celebrating four years after undergoing a lifesaving procedure; one that almost didn’t happen. Now has a daily reminder of just how lucky he is to be alive.
When we first introduced you to Andy Kontz four years ago he was in the hospital battling leukemia and waiting to find a bone marrow donor.
“It got serious real fast, because we knew we were going to have to have the transplant sooner than later,” Kontz said.
Kontz’s particular DNA made it hard to find a bone marrow match. Doctors searched the world but couldn’t find one.
He continued waiting, while doctors continued searching.
After months of striking out, they finally found a match in Germany; a man by the name of Joseph.
Which brings us to this precious little girl, who was born a little over eight months ago. They named her Addison Joseph; after the man who saved Kontz’s life. She is truly a miracle baby, because of all the chemotherapy Kontz had gone through.
“The first two doctors I talked to said there would be zero percent chance of us having a baby naturally,” Kontz said.
While Kontz is cancer free, he says he still has good days and bad days, but having Addison helps.
“She is just the cutest easiest going quiet baby, so it makes the days I’m not feeling good seem a lot easier,” Kontz said.
Now this real estate agent is selling the idea of getting people to register as donors.
“I think we’ve had over 1,000 people get registered since I got sick through the various drives we’ve done,” Kontz said. “It’s just a basic cheek swab is all it takes to get on the registry and hopefully it’ll save somebody’s life.”
Kontz talks to his donor Joseph every few weeks via email. He and his wife are planning a trip to Germany to meet him for the very first time.
