On Wednesday, a Tampa Bay area man got the chance to meet his real-life hero.
Nick Voinovic was diagnosed with myelofibrosis, a precursor to leukemia, in November 2016. Doctors told him his only chance to live was a stem cell transplant.
Thanks to a 24-year-old with a big heart he now has a second chance at life.
As they hugged and cried tears of joy, the song "Sweet Caroline" took on a new meaning for Nick Vojnovic and his family, as they embraced Caroline Gomez, the stem cell donor who saved his life.
“For the rest of my life I am indebted to you and your family. You’re my new daughter," he told 24-year-old Gomez.
Vojnovic, a lifelong Floridian, joined Be The Match, the National Marrow Donor Program Registry, in 2001. As president of Beef O'Brady's restaurants, he participated in a bone marrow registry drive held at one of his restaurants in support of a patron whose young son needed a compatible donor for a marrow/stem cell transplant.
In 2006, Vojnovic was a potential donor for another patient. Upon follow-up testing, however, he was told there were some anomalies in his bone marrow and he should consult a hematologist.
“They said, 'Something is wrong with your blood,' but at that point the doctors couldn’t diagnose it,” Vojnovic said.
Ten years later he was diagnosed with myelofibrosis. “All the doctors said there’s no cure other than a transplant,” he said.
That’s when Gomez, originally from Cape Coral, got a call at her home in Washington D.C. She joined the National Marrow Donor Registry in college.
“At that point I forgot I signed up. ... I was swabbed one day in college as I was walking in my quad,”
With her donation and the support of many OneBlood platelet and blood donors, Vojnovic underwent his transplant at Moffitt Cancer Center in January 2017 and won his battle to live.
Out of 29 million people, Gomez was the only match.
“It’s one of those moments you’ll always remember for the rest of your life. I’ve been dreaming about this moment, been wondering what you look like, what your family is like and I’m so excited to be a part of this family now,” she told Vojnovic.
The complete strangers are now connected by a lifesaving donation.
“I wrote down some things I wanted to do if I made it. Seeing my daughter getting married, seeing my grandchildren, and it's thanks to you I have a chance for that as well,” he told Gomez.
“I have no words. I guess I don’t realize the gravity of what it means. I just know that he’s here now and I get to meet him,” said Gomez.
If you’d like to become a bone marrow or stem cell donor, register with Be The Match.
About Be The Match
For the thousands of people diagnosed every year with life-threatening blood cancers like leukemia and lymphoma, a cure exists. Over the past 25 years Be The Match operated by the National Marrow Donor Program ® (NMDP), has managed the largest and most diverse marrow registry in the world. We work every day to save lives through transplant.
About One Blood
OneBlood is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) community asset responsible for providing safe, available and affordable blood to more than 200 hospital partners and their patients throughout most of Florida, parts of Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina. The OneBlood name is a constant reminder of the collective power we share to save another person's life.
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