Exactly a day after completing his final training session for the Gift of Life Marrow Registry Campus Ambassador Program, Nick Stone received a call. The University of Tennessee senior diver assumed the call was about his new role when he saw the Gift of Life number on his phone.
To Stone’s surprise, it had nothing to do with his CAP training. The registry worker was calling to inform Stone he had matched with a patient battling blood cancer.
“I was honestly speechless. I didn’t say anything back to her,” Stone says. “The timing of how everything happened was really unique.”
Stone was introduced to Gift of Life during his freshman year at UT when he volunteered for three-hour shifts at cheek swap drives. He had his cheek swabbed, but knew the odds were long to be matched with someone.
Stone reengaged with the organization in January after his uncle was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a type of blood cancer. Stone encouraged all his family members to join the registry in case they were a match. In May, he received an email from Gift of Life about becoming a UT ambassador through CAP.
“I felt like it was a great way to support my uncle and support the organization,” Stone says. “I love what they’re doing, and they could potentially save one of my family members’ lives. I wanted to give back and spread awareness more.”
Supporting the cause
Stone’s uncle died June 15. Ten days later, he received the call that he was a match for a 55-year-old male battling a form of blood cancer. He was asked if he was willing to donate stem cells and platelets.
Stone briefly wondered how it would impact his senior season diving for the Vols.
“But it dawned on me that I’m not giving bone marrow. It’s not a full surgery procedure and I’ve given blood in the past,” Stone says. “Saving someone in this type of way is much easier than probably any other procedure that can save someone.”
Before he committed to donating, Stone asked new UT diving coach Jane Figueiredo if she had any concerns.
“Her first reaction was, ‘I think you should go for it,’” Stone says. “She said it’s going to be so early in the season that she didn’t have an issue with it. She encouraged me and said she loved everything I was doing.”
Stone began the process immediately. Beginning Aug. 29, he started receiving two injections a day for five days before the donation. Then, he was flown to Washington, D.C. to have the procedure done. The registry allows donors to bring a companion, and Stone’s grandmother flew in from his hometown of Midland, Texas.
“They treat everyone with the most respect,” Stone says. “They pay for travel, hotel, transportation and meals. It was a gift for me to go over there, just as much as it was a gift for me to give.”
Stone’s procedure took about three hours and he “felt amazing” once it was complete. As he sat in the airport waiting for his return flight to Knoxville, he grew emotional about the entire process.
“It all kind of hit me. What I did really impacted way more people than I thought it would have or should have,” he says. “It didn’t just impact my recipient, but it impacted his family and friends and my family and friends.”
‘He’s just such a giving person’
Former UT diving coach Dave Parrington, who retired in April after 35 years at UT, wasn’t surprised when he learned about Stone’s donation.
“It’s just the type of kid that he is,” Parrington says. “He’s such a giving person and cares about people and is always there for his teammates and friends and family. I am just so proud of the young man.”
Stone, copresident of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee at UT, is majoring in sports management with a minor in business and leadership. Throughout his donation experience, he reflected on what he’d been taught in his leadership classes.
“I learned what being a servant leader is about, and what you give other people is more important than what you receive,” Stone says. “That’s what I saw in this situation. I’m not doing this just for me to say that I helped save a life; it’s benefiting my recipient and giving him extra life. That was the most important thing – just giving him more life and giving his family more time with him.”
Stone was back in the weight room the day after he returned from D.C., and resumed his training in the pool within two days. He’s eager to begin his role with the CAP program to spread awareness and work at the upcoming drives around campus. (Sept. 19, 10 a.m.; Sept. 30, 10 a.m.; Oct. 21, 2 p.m., Oct. 31, 2 p.m.)
The nurses who gave Stone his injections before he left for D.C. have stayed in contact with him and told him they plan to attend some of his diving meets this season.
There is a chance Stone could eventually meet the patient he helped if the patient chooses to contact him.
“I don’t know where he is in his journey, so it could be a couple months from now. It could be a couple years from now,” Stone says. “But I am looking forward to hopefully even just having a phone call with him.”