When Kirsa Williams' son Bennet was just 4 years old, he was deemed a cancer survivor after fighting the most common form of childhood leukemia -- acute lymphocytic leukemia.
Then four years later, he received another devastating diagnosis.
"Fast forward to 2018 and Bennet was 8 years old. He was diagnosed with a different type of leukemia and this time it was called MDS, or myelodysplastic syndrome. It was a precursor to AML, which is a more aggressive type of leukemia," Kirsa said. "The only cure for MDS is a bone marrow transplant."
That's when they began the process of trying to find a bone marrow donor through the world's largest stem cell donor center DKMS. They started with family first, but Bennet's two older sisters weren't a match.
"So then they go to the registry, which is not only national but it's worldwide, and just start praying that a match is found," Kirsa said. "We felt so lucky and blessed the day that the nurse told us we found a match."
All they knew was that their donor was a male.
"There is a lot of fear of the unknown because a bone marrow transplant involves wiping out your existing bone marrow and immune system. Then you just sit and wait for the bone marrow to settle and start producing new, healthy blood that is cancer-free," Kirsa said.
Bennet is now not only surviving, but thriving as a lacrosse player and a happy 12-year-old boy, who feels blessed.
Eventually, they learned the donor's name was Joshua Coleman and he lives across the world in Germany.
The family got the surprise of a lifetime just a few days ago at a DKMS event.
Four years after receiving his transplant, Bennet was invited to attend DKMS’ 9th Annual Awards Breakfast in Dallas, where his life-saving donor Joshua was waiting to surprise him.
"She called us up on stage and then she said, 'Joshua Coleman come on stage.' I couldn't believe it! I couldn't believe he was there and had traveled thousands of miles to come meet us," Kirsa said.
During the emotional first-time meeting, Bennet and his family expressed their unending gratitude to Joshua for his incredibly selfless act.
"He is so sweet and so humble," Kirsa said. "And he said, 'Why wouldn't I help? Why wouldn't I do something to help somebody else?' He just made it sound like it was no big deal. I said, 'You know, Joshua, this is such a big deal. Your decision to do this saved our life."
Kirsa hopes telling their story will encourage others to get swabbed and become bone marrow donors. To become a donor, go to the DKMS website.
We're proud to call Joshua Coleman and DKMS this weeks Difference Makers.
If you know someone making a difference in the community, send us an email at differencemaker@krld.com.
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