A pregnant cancer patient who miraculously discovered a transplant match has given birth to a healthy set of twins. Susie Rabaca, 36, was just a few months into carrying her babies when she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of acute myeloid leukemia.
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“I would like to introduce my miracle twin babies to all you who prayed for them cared for them asked about them every day!!” Rabaca posted to Facebook December 7. “They are doing great healthy happy and hungry lol. They truly mean the world to me and because of all the support and prayers I got my MATCH and get to LIVE and me the best mommy I can be!! THANK YOU!!!”
https://www.facebook.com/susie.rabaca/posts/2464932516915032
After receiving her devastating diagnosis, doctors informed Rabaca that the only treatment that had any hope of working was a bone marrow transplant. However, despite there being some 30 million registered donors, the mother struggled to find a match. So, with the future of her twins at the forefront of her mind, Rabaca went about desperately searching for a donor. Initially, it looked like her sister might be able to undergo the procedure, but the family was disappointed to learn she was only a 50 percent match. Unfortunately, the doctors said that this would not be good enough for a healthy recovery.
“In order for a blood stem cell transplant to work, you need to find a match who has similar DNA and ancestry to you,” Be the Match representative Julie Korinke told WABC-TV. “Even with 30 million people on the worldwide registry, Susie does not have one match on that registry.”
“Because matching is based on ancestry and DNA, it’s really important that our registry is just as diverse as our population and right now that isn’t the case,” she added.
Due to the severity of her cancer, doctors recommended that Rabaca find a 100 percent match. So, along with the help of friends and family, she set about searching the globe for a miracle donor. Incredibly, her story went viral and received thousands of shares across social media.
“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-TV. “It’s so easy, there’s no painful procedure, there’s no surgery, it’s just swab your mouth and it’s as simple as a blood draw, and you can save somebody’s life, if not mine, somebody else’
Finally, with a little help from country star Carrie Underwood, Rabaca found a match, revealing the stunning news Wednesday night.
Just came across this story…who wants to save a life for Christmas? https://t.co/YutHS6dspR
— Carrie Underwood (@carrieunderwood) November 27, 2018
“For me to find one and for it to be 10 out of 10 at that is amazing,” she told WPVI-TV. “Nothing better in the world right now.”
“With tears running down my face and my heart full of hope I want to say THANK YOU LORD!” she wrote in a Facebook post after learning the good news. “And thank you from the bottom of my heart to every single person that has said even 1 prayer for me and my family! Thank you to my family, friends, people around the country that I don’t even know that have shown support and especially that have signed up for BE THE MATCH!!!!! Journey isn’t over but a huge step forward!!! Thankful for you all lots of love! Keep Praying thank you!!!!”
Pray for Susie Rabaca as she enters into this joyful new season of healing and life with her newborn twins!