There is a great distance between Fayetteville, Ga.

and Pinckney, Mich. but it wasn't too great a distance for Tommy

Graf of Fayetteville to help Ken Grundy.

Grundy was diagnosed with mylar displastic syndrome

leukemia and doctors old him that, barring a bone marrow transplant,

he had only months to live. When none of Grundy's four

siblings matched him for a bone marrow donor, his doctors began

searching through the National Bone Marrow Registry for a

suitable donor.

That is how they found Tommy Graf.

In 1994, Graf had joined 1,400 other people and was tested at

a bone marrow drive that was conducted in hopes of finding a

match for Fayette County youth David L. Harris Jr. Harris was

diagnosed with leukemia in January 1994 and also needed a bone

marrow transplant.

While Graf did not match Harris, his information was stored

in the national registry and proved to be a perfect match for

Ken Grundy. "This is such a positive thing for us to see. To know

that Ken Grundy is doing so well and that his donor, Tommy Graf,

was tested because of David, is so wonderful," said Harris'

mother, Leigh Ann. "Tommy is a true hero because he was willing

to give the gift of life to a person in need."

Graf and Grundy met face to face in April 1998, when

Grundy and his wife and their triplets traveled to Fayetteville to meet

Graf and his family. They met at the Holiday Inn Express in

Fayetteville. Marc Pickard, channel 11 news reporter, was there

to cover this emotional meeting.

"Tommy is like a brother to me now," said Grundy. "He

saved my life."

Anyone can and should be tested and added to the National

Bone Marrow Registry. To enter, phone the American Red Cross at

404-881-0668, ext. 582.

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