A young girl celebrated her “re-birthday” this past week.
Bristol 11-year-old Emily Dougherty celebrated the re-birthday with about 150 members of the Bristol Borough and St. Mark’s Church community on Saturday. The special event included a a party and collection event for kids at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
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In October 2014, Emily began experiencing symptoms that doctors attributed to Aplastic Anemia. Needing a bone marrow transplant, Emily’s sister, Amanda, was found to be a match. According to Jen Dougherty, the girls’ mother, a sisterly match only has a 25 percent chance.
The anniversary for the surgery is December 17, and in the bone marrow community, the anniversaries are celebrated as re-birthdays, Dougherty explained.
“Every year, we are going to celebrate this as another birthday because her sister saved her life,” Dougherty said.
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In addition to the party and toy collection, Dougherty is working to organize an annual blood drive and is advocating for bethematch.com, a website that allows people to sign up for a bone marrow registry.
“We are encouraging young people to get on there, because you really can save a life,” Dougherty said, referencing bethematch.com.
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“We are very blessed to live in a community such as this,” Dougherty said, commenting on the community’s support for Emily while she was sick.
Because of the illness, Emily had to miss a full year of school. She returned to St. Mark School in September.
