Carter Lewis

Sandy Lewis of Appleton, Wisconsin and her family know the power of blood donors. They helped save the life of her son, Carter.

When Carter was just two and a half years old, Sandy noticed lumps on her son's neck and under his arms. She assumed they were just swollen lymph nodes he had developed because of a cold, but a blood test revealed Carter had leukemia, cancer of the blood, and lymphoma, cancer of the lymph nodes.

"All I remember hearing is the word leukemia," Sandy said. "I can't tell you what the doctor said. He talked for 10 or 15 minutes. I was just numb trying to wrap my mind around it."

Carter underwent chemotherapy for treatment and thirty days after his diagnoses he went into remission. To help ensure his survival, Carter then underwent three more years of chemotherapy treatments. Often homebound, he suffered through 107-degree fevers, multiple shots and bloated limbs. When his blood counts were low, he received blood product transfusion—12 total during the course of his treatment.

"When people donate blood, they'll likely never know who they're donating for," Sandy said. "I think that's quite special."

Carter is now a healthy teenager, who loves to snowboard and excels at drawing and playing the piano. His mom believes his illness allowed Carter to develop into an empathetic young man, who cares for those less fortunate.

Sandy said, "There is nothing so important, and yet so simple, that you could do to help somebody than donating blood. It doesn't cost anything but a little bit of your time, and you can save someone's life."