A Patient's Story: Michael

Michael Miller was a busy 28-year-old with a heart of gold and full of kindness. He was holding down two jobs when he went to the Emergency Department with a sore jaw. Six hours later his whole world changed, when he was told he had leukemia and was going septic from cellulitis in his jaw. Upon being admitted to Mayo Clinic Hospital — Rochester, Saint Marys Campus, Michael also tested positive for COVID-19.

In the last two years, Michael has met many challenges, from acute kidney damage to blood clots and organ failure. He spent 100 days in the hospital with a fungal pneumonia, which almost took his life. Thirty of those days were in the ICU on a ventilator with a dangerous fever. Upon recovery, Michael had a bone marrow transplant, but less than nine months later, the leukemia was back. With no artificial substitute for blood, Michael began receiving blood products provided by donors within the community. Cancer patients often require multiple transfusions over the course of their care as their body struggles with the production of healthy red cells.

Michael recently traveled to Houston to participate in a clinical trial. He is scheduled for a bone marrow transplant number two at Mayo Clinic this September. Michael would not be here today if it were not for the generosity of blood donors, these donations and blood product transfusions have kept him alive over the course of his treatment. Michael is a fighter, and with the help of our blood donors and their commitment to saving lives, he is winning! Michael and the Miller family are so thankful for all the generous donors within our community.