The senior year of college is an exciting time. Students balance the last of their academic responsibilities with preparation for the work force. John Romine, though, stands at the dawn of his professional life with more than grad school or job applications on his mind.
John has recurrent Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and needs a bone marrow transplant. Unfortunately, no one on the national Bone Marrow Donor Registry is a match.
But, John is one of the lucky ones. The support of his family and friends is unyielding and his positive attitude is infectious.
Through it all, he commits to single mantra. “This is not a battle because battles can be lost. This is just a bump in the road that I must travel.”
Since his diagnosis, John’s network of supporters has hosted seven dedicated bone marrow drives from Kokomo to Columbus and West Lafayette to North Vernon. Their efforts have yielded an additional 300 Hoosier donors on the national registry, though no match has been found for John.
John’s spirit remains.
He maintains his student status at Purdue by taking classes online. He accepts the rigorous treatment regimen as the means of getting past this bump in his road of life and focuses on what makes him happy – raising cattle, helping on his family’s Christmas tree farm in Bartholomew County, spending time with friends at Purdue.
John and his family also have taken up the cause of blood and bone marrow donation. At every opportunity, they stress the importance of hosting drives and making the donation, not only for John but all those in need.
“It is so important to educate others about how easy it is to be tested and how important it is to be able to save someone's life if chosen as a match,” John’s mother, Carol, said. “Hopefully, someone will find a match from these efforts. We just love all the kids that have been working so hard on John's behalf.”
Through his journey, John refuses to let life pass him by. He recently received an FFA American degree in Indianapolis during the National FFA Convention, raced to Purdue for homecoming, and back home to Newbern for the updates on the upcoming birth his new niece or nephew.
Here’s to hoping that the family’s newest child has a bit of uncle John’s wondrous spirit.
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A Life Remembered
John Romine lost his battle with lymphoma on Friday, December 5, 2008.