12-02-2025
McPherson girl gets life-saving donation from a stranger
MCPHERSON, Kan. (KSNW) — Brooklynn St. John is an 11-year-old from McPherson. In December 2022, she was diagnosed with severe aplastic anemia and needed a bone marrow transplant.
'It was confusing, it was hard, very stressful,' Brooklynn's mom, Riki Phillips, said.
St. John missed the majority of 4th grade due to her illness. St. John's family members got tested to see whether they were a match. Not long after, a stranger named Justin Bradshaw became their hero.
'It's an amazing deal,' Phillips said. 'It was awesome. I was excited. I was happy. I couldn't really even put it into words. I was relieved.'
Bradshaw is a dad and first responder in Texas. When he started at the fire department, he got swabbed in case this day came.
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'It took about five years,' Bradshaw said. 'I got a phone call from DKMS, and they told me I was a match for Brooklynn.'
In March 2023, Bradshaw donated his bone marrow to St. John.
'I didn't know anything about Brooklynn,' Bradshaw said. 'All I knew was I was donating to a 9- year-old girl. In the firefighting business, we're here to help people and save lives and property. So why not be able to do that in a different way? Then, when I heard it was a kiddo, me having kids around the same age, I figured I would want somebody to do the same thing if one of my kids had some kind of blood cancer. So, why not?'
Eventually, Bradshaw, St. John and Phillips got to meet at a DKMS gala in New York.
'It was breathtaking,' Phillips said. 'I told him he was our hero, and I gave him a hug twice.'
'I hope that she grows up and has a long and healthy and happy life,' Bradshaw said. 'I hope she is able to pursue all of her dreams if she wants to go to college or get married and have a big family, just all the things that you take for granted when you're not sick as a kiddo.'
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Bradshaw encourages everyone to consider getting tested because you could potentially save a life.
'It's pretty easy,' Bradshaw said. 'It's a cheek swab. It doesn't take any time at all, and you could have the potential or saving somebody's life. I would just encourage people to go out there and get swabbed, and maybe they can help somebody.'
The two say they hope to continue staying in contact. For more information on getting swabbed, click here.
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