But all that is, hopefully, about to change. Andrea spoke to The Ryan Tubridy Show, outlining her struggles as a young girl with a form of Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia.
"I had been waiting for 18 years to meet my donor and I never found out what her name was, I only knew that she was a lady in her 50’s from Ireland."
Desperate for a second chance at life, and needing a bone marrow transplant, the search began for a suitable donor. And after seven months, one was found. Across the Atlantic, in Ireland.
Now almost 19 years cancer-free, Andrea decided just two weeks ago to contact the Bone Marrow Transplant team at the hospital where she had her transplant, to see whether she could locate and express thanks to her donor. She explained to Ryan in detail the feelings she had.
"I was shaking as I was typing it out on my computer. I went back from the beginning in 1996 when I was initially diagnosed and I just thanked her and explained that I really wanted to get to know her more and I wanted to show her the impact her selfless choice gave to me."
Although cautioning Andrea that, two decades on, the search might be fruitless, low and behold, the donor was found.
Listen to Andrea's interview with the Ryan Tubridy Show in full here:
We can’t reveal the donor’s name, but we can say she is 70 years old, was 51 years of age when the donation was made, and is equally excited to make contact with the woman whose life she saved.
And, just in case the story so far hasn’t warmed your heart enough, Andrea also spoke to Ryan about the other miracle in her life, her six-year-old son, conceived naturally, 10 years after being told by doctors that chemotherapy had ruined her chances of ever becoming pregnant.
"It was not only that she saved my life, I have a six-year-old son that I never would have had if I hadn’t had a bone marrow transplant."
Now, hasn’t that taken your mind off the August rain for just a moment?
