ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Through her sobs and smiles, Sofia Groves thanked her heroes.
They neither wore capes nor possessed special powers. They are simply good people looking to help.
Without them, Groves is certain the world would be without their daughter.
And so, at a Miller-Keystone Blood Center event called “Celebrate Hope” on Wednesday night at the Four Points Sheraton Allentown Lehigh Valley, a grateful young woman thanked them.
Groves thanked all 11 of them. Six women and five men of different ages and all walks of life. She thanked them in person with hugs and via Zoom call with heartfelt words only someone who was so close to death can deliver.
“Thank you for saving my life.”
“God bless you for saving me.”
“You are my heroes.”
The donors didn’t feel they were heroic at all.
The healthy miracle who stood near them disagreed.
What those people did was answer a call by the Miller-Keystone Blood Center in January 2021 to donate blood and platelets after Groves, then 22, suffered a stroke and seizures and fell into a coma after a toxic reaction to Lupus medication.
Lupus caused Groves' platelets to crash. Platelets are small cells that help the body clot and heal. A deficiency of platelets is called Thrombocytopenia, the medical term for a low platelet count that can cause the body to not clot properly and cause dangerous bleeding as a result.
Complicating matters was time. Platelets have a short life span and must be refreshed every 24-48 hours.
Groves received 100 pints of blood. Platelets, plasma. Transfusion after transfusion after transfusion to keep her alive.
Groves needed plenty of them. She also needed those heroes.
"Thank you for saving my life."Sofia Groves
You don’t believe they’re heroes? Listen to a father stand before them, barely able to contain his emotions.
“You certainly saved the life of my daughter,” Tom Groves said, his voice cracking at every turn, as his family looked on.
“She is 25 now and healthy… She was in three different hospitals in 95 days. She had brain surgery.
“Miraculously, because of your gift of life, she is here today.”
The Celebrate Hope initiative is an eight-year, Miller-Keystone program which reunites some transfusion recipients with the actual blood donors whose selfless donations helped to save their lives.
When one donor, Mark Tusan, was asked how he feels about being a hero, he shakes his head in the negative and smiles.
“I’m just glad Sofia is healthy again,” the 63-year-old Bethlehem resident said. “I was just giving blood, like I have since 1987.
“That’s when one of my classmates at (Bethlehem) Liberty High School —Cindy Shoemaker, she was a Bethlehem cop — was killed along with her husband by a drunk driver. A call went out to donate blood. That was my first time.”
Thirty-five gallons later, Tusan sees himself not as a hero, just a donor.
“Seeing Sofia here is the reward,” he said.
Rami Nemeh, Miller-Keystone Blood Center's chief operating officer, defined the energy in the room as inspiring.
“This room is a perfect example of what community collaboration is all about, donors, staff and community leaders working together for one common goal — saving lives."Rami Nemeh
“This room is a perfect example of what community collaboration is all about,” he said. “Donors, staff and community leaders working together for one common goal — saving lives.
“Listening to all these stories becomes a beacon of hope within the community. It’s a testament to what blood donors are doing in our community.”
The need for blood donors is critical. Every two seconds, someone in America needs blood. Thirty-eight percent of the population is eligible to donate, but only 3% regularly do.
And there’s this: For every unit of blood donated, it has the power to save three lives in a community.
Sofia Groves was one of them.
“I didn’t think I’d survive,” she told the gathering. “I’m a religious person, so I prayed to God to get me out of this. Thankfully, people stepped up. I am so appreciative of them for me being alive.”
Groves’ heroes are Barbara Brenckman, Megan Dennis, Sharon Harfman, Alexander Kiskeravage, Christopher Lopez, Daniel Loikids, Keelia Maccarrone, Lauren Shipe, Ken Reider, Jr., Linda Worbel and Tusan.
“I know they don’t see themselves as heroes,” said Groves, a member coordinator at the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce. “But after what their donations did for me, they are.”
