LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – Of the nearly 90,000 fans in Memorial Stadium on Saturday, no two will be connected in quite the same way as Julia Morrison and Erica Brockberg.
“I cheer for Nebraska, but I have Michigan blood,” Morrison said.
Julia Morrison is a 10-year-old in Lincoln who loves things like dancing, painting and golfing. But four years ago most of her time was spent in the hospital after being diagnosed with aplastic anemia, a rare disease leaving her bone marrow unable to produce enough red-blood cells.
“We were doing blood transfusions, platelet transfusions just trying to keep her at a level where we were keeping her safe,” Julia’s father Tyler said. “All while we were looking through other courses of action for what we could do.”
After months of failed treatments, the Morrisons turned toward their last option: A donor. Neither of Julia’s older sisters were a match, the only choice to find someone through a national donor registry.
“Tyler and I didn’t know a ton about the process,” Julia’s mom Jen said. “We were scared, felt the weight of the world on our shoulders.
Thankfully, doctors found one perfect match: Erica Brockberg from Michigan. Brockberg came to Nebraska for the transplant in November.
“Julia is now able to dance and go to school and do normal things because she’s better,” Brockberg said. “Especially having become a mother myself thinking about, you know, having a child go from being sick and in the hospital once a week to being able to live a normal life, it’s incredible.”
“Pretty much have been in constant contact since that initial reach out,” Julia’s dad said. “Julia texts Erica quite often, just with updates of what we have going on in our life. The first time that we met in-person, they came to Lincoln, and we took them to a Husker game in November of 20-23.”
This weekend they were back at Memorial Stadium, sharing their story in front of the crowd. Their goal is to encourage as many people as possible to join the same National registry doctors used to find Brockberg.
“This is an opportunity for Husker nation to show up, join the registry, and save someone’s life,” Julia’s dad said.
Julia’s rooting interests were torn during Saturday’s game, but the way she put it, she’s a Nebraska fan with Michigan blood.
You can join the registry and become a possible donor at the National Marrow Donor Program’s website.
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