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She was released from the hospital by 1 p.m. SELFLESSLY
that same day. She rested at her brother’s
home in Houston and was able to fly back
to Kansas City at the end of the week.
The bone marrow donation was flown directly
to the patient, and the little girl received the
transplant the next day. For Robyn, it was
a six-week recovery process during which
she could not engage in strenuous activity.
During that six-week recovery, Robyn’s body
replenished all the bone marrow she donated.
Both leading up to and after the surgery, Robyn
had many people ask her, “Why?” Why undergo
surgery for a stranger? Her response was simple.
“If I can sacrifice a little bit of
pain to give someone else their
life back, why wouldn’t I?”
Knowing how rare it is to find a bone marrow
match, the decision was a no-brainer for Robyn.
She had seen her family friend go through
the process of searching for a donor, and
even had a few friends whose own children
had passed away from childhood cancers.
“It came down to my faith,” Robyn said. “It
is extremely rare to match so it felt like I was
specifically chosen by God to match this little girl
who needed my help. I couldn’t say no to that.”
As far as the status of Robyn’s donation recipient,
she was told in June 2020 that as of March 2020,
the little girl was alive and recovering. As part
of its protocol, DKMS allows the donor to fill out
paperwork one year post-surgery that allows the
release of the donor’s information to the patient
so they can reach out if they choose. Robyn filled
out the paperwork in December 2020 and is
hopeful to hear good news from the family soon.
“I hope and pray that she’s a healthy little
girl who can now move on with her life,”
Robyn said. “No child should have to deal
with cancer, and I hope she’s free of that.”
Through her story, Robyn hopes
to shine a light on the importance
of bone marrow donation.
To learn how you can register,
visit www.dkms.org.
Bridget (l) and Ava (r).
Brilliant
By Ella Funke ‘22
Acts of kindness happen every day at Cor
Jesu, most of which go unnoticed. But take
a step into any classroom, a trip out to the
sports fields, or a seat at any club meeting, going the extra mile
and you will see students going the extra mile
for their classmates, teammates and friends.
If you happened to walk into Mrs. Cain's
freshman biology class last spring, you would
have witnessed Bridget Sisul ‘24 shining brightly
through her selflessness. Bridget and her lab
partner, Ava, were in the middle of working
together on a big biology project when Ava
was hospitalized. Afterward, Bridget had a
meeting with Mrs. Cain about the situation
where, instead of complaining or asking for an
extension, she said that it was no big deal and
that she would finish the project. When it came
time to complete partner evaluations for the FEATURE
project, Bridget gave Ava full credit, and Ava
gave Bridget more credit than she gave herself.
“They were so compassionate
and caring towards each other,”
Mrs. Cain said. “And I think that is just as
important as being a good student.”
By understanding that none of this was
Ava's fault and that she was doing the best
she could, Bridget graciously picked up the
extra work and still gave her partner the credit.
The way that she helped Ava and the way
that Ava was willing to accept that help is a
beautiful representation of women building
up other women. This is just one example of
the many brilliant ways that Cor Jesu students
support each other every single day.
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