This is our last photo together.  It's not the best photo but it means the world to me.  Dad indulging me as I take a fun little selfie as we sat on the couch watching movies on a Sunday in September, 2015.  I have never shown it publicly until now.  Six weeks later, on October 24, 2015, my father, Michael Petrini, died from complications of myelofibrosis.  I will never forget the day he told me about his diagnosis. We were on a train in December 2007 to see a holiday performance by the San Francisco Symphony. “Blood cancer,” he said, “incurable,” and “five years.” One by one, he tried the medications suggested by his doctors, and one by one, each failed until one day in 2008 we were told about the possibility of a stem cell transplant.  They told us it would be his last shot but with only a 30-50% chance of success, and we would need a small miracle to find a perfect match. But we all had faith because miracles do happen, and a perfect match was found! In 2009, my parents moved to Palo Alto, CA, to be near the Stanford Medical Center and observed more miracles of science and medicine work their magic on my father’s blood cells/DNA. Because of his stem cell transplant, my father’s disease was sent into remission, and my mother, my sister, and I each had six more priceless years with dad.  Although the transplant did not cure my father of his blood disorder, it gave my father the next best thing - more time. I am grateful he was able to live long enough for my kids to reach the age where they would remember how amazing he was. Since losing him, I have often reflected on how important it is to continue funding organizations like Anthon Nolan in the hope that others can also have more time on this earth with their loved ones or even be cured of their own blood disorder. I resolved to find a way to say thank you and raise money to help others like my father who are in need of stem cells. I am so grateful to be running with #TeamAN in the London Marathon on April 23, 2023, in honor of my beloved father. 

Every day, Anthony Nolan saves the lives of people with a blood cancer or blood disorder. We do this by matching incredible individuals willing to donate their stem cells to people who desperately need a lifesaving transplant. We also carry out cutting edge scientific research, fund specialist post-transplant nurses and support patients and their families through the transplant process and beyond. We won’t stop until we save the lives of everyone who needs a stem cell transplant. Every penny you donate brings us closer to that day.

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