New bride Greta Hokanson, 24, was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia on September 1, 2006.
Her best chance of survival was a bone marrow transplant, but it’s an intense, risky surgery.
And on top of that, neither of her two sisters were a match for her bone marrow.
After joining the bone marrow registry, Greta discovered that a 44-year-old man from Arkansas was a match.
Danny Daniels, Ms. Hokanson’s perfect match, was serving in the Air Force National Guard at the time, and was stationed only seven hours away in South Dakota. Daniels had previously donated his bone marrow at a drive after one of his military friends was diagnosed with cancer.
And when he got the call about Greta ten years later, he immediately agreed to allow his bone marrow to be used to treat her.
Hokanson thankfully underwent a successful bone marrow transplant and recovered from her cancer.
“A year after the operation, if both parties want to, you can decide to meet,” Hokanson said. “Before I met him, he was this amazing man who gave his bone marrow to me without knowing anything about me. It was incredible seeing him standing right there in front of me.”
The Minnesota-based Hokanson and her family headed to a softball game in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where they met the man who saved her life.
Greta said, “Thank you There’s no way that I can ever repay you for this.”
Daniels comment to her was, “There’s no repayment necessary. There are no thank yous necessary. I just want you to have as normal life as possible.”
The pair has stayed in touch through Facebook and on October 10, Daniels was asked to attend Hokanson’s wedding as a special guest.
“I knew I wanted to somehow celebrate and honor what he did for me and when speaking with the DJ, he suggested a dance,” Hokanson said.
Danny immediately fell in love with the idea, and replied “I would be honored.”
The pair danced together to Angels Among Us by Alabama in front of 260 guests.
“She is a very sweet person and I’m so honored that she was the one that received my bone marrow. She’s a great young lady and she’s making the best of her life. To be honored with the dance was very special to me,” Daniels said.
“I was very proud at the wedding, just like a father would be,” he told BuzzFeed, “It felt like my own daughter getting married.”
Hokanson said she was overcome with emotion during the dance: “(I’m) so unbelievably grateful for the gift of life he gave me. There is nothing better. He is a real life hero, doing a completely selfless act for me, a stranger.”
Because of her after-effects of leukemia, like joint pain and fatigue, it encouraged Greta to change her career path from teaching to medicine. Greta is now a nurse at United Hospital in St. Paul.
How amazing was it that Daniels joined Hokanson on her wedding day? Do you share a similar experience to this? Let us know in the comments below.
[Featured Image Credit: Phodot Photography]