Mom Who Fought Cancer While Pregnant with Twins Receives Life-Saving Transplant
Susie Rabaca, the mother who gave birth to twins while fighting leukemia, has received a potentially life-saving bone marrow transplant.
When we first met Rabaca, she was pregnant with twins. She was also battling an aggressive form of leukemia and faced a difficult dilemma.
“I had to make the choice to keep these babies or terminate the pregnancy and, of course, I could not terminate the pregnancy so I kept them,” Rabaca, 36, told WABC-TV.
Twins Ryan and Rainey were born in December, just weeks after Rabaca learned that a potential bone marrow donor was found to be a perfect match.
“I got the call that I had an identified 10 out of 10 perfect match,” Rabaca said.
“Finding my match is everything to me, so I can be here for the three children I have, and the two that I have on the way, it’s everything,” she told KTTV in November.
On Jan. 12, Rabaca received the bone marrow transplant that has the potential to save her life.
Finding the perfect bone marrow match was incredibly difficult because Rabaca’s type was rare.
Of the 30 million people registered on BeTheMatch.org, not one was found to be a match. Only her sister came close, with just five of ten necessary traits matching.
After Rabaca’s plea for a match went viral on social media, over 60,000 people stepped up to see if they were the match.
Rabaca only needed one person to be a perfect match — and that person, who has not been identified, was found.
Rabaca was overwhelmed with the love and support shown to her, coming from complete strangers who wanted to see this mother live and thrive alongside her children.
“With tears running down my face and my heart full of hope I want to say THANK YOU LORD!” she said in a Nov. 29 Facebook post. “And thank you from the bottom of my heart to every single person that has said even 1 prayer for me and my family!”
Rabaca knows she still has a long, uncertain road ahead that will be likely filled with many highs and lows.
But for now, she and her family are celebrating this huge step forward in giving Rabaca a fresh start at a healthy life.
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