Elmhurst mom diagnosed with eye cancer while pregnant shares impact of blood donations
ELMHURST, Ill. (WLS) -- The Great Chicago Blood Drive is right around the corner and it's important to show the impact one donation can make on a family.
Jill Wrobel may seem like a typical mom, but she has had an atypical journey.
"So when I was 30 years old and I was pregnant for the first time, I was diagnosed with eye cancer," Wrobel said.
Wrobel's diagnosis put her in a tough position to choose between her eye or her child.
"It didn't seem right to me to undergo radiation," she said.
ALSO WATCH: Blood cancer survivor talks importance of blood donations
Wrobel chose her son. But, 18 months after the birth of a healthy baby boy, the cancer returned. And though her cancer treatment ultimately saved her life, it came with some life-threatening complications.
"My immune system got a little confused," Wrobel said, "which resulted in me losing a lot of blood in the hospital over about a month's period of time. And by a lot of blood, I mean probably close to 20 units of transfusion over a two to three-week period."
Now Wrobel is asking people to think about the impact a simple blood donation can make.
"I didn't fully comprehend the criticality of blood donations," she said before realizing the generosity of a stranger simply rolling up their sleeves can put everything into perspective. "Things can happen at a moment's notice. And you are really reliant on the good fortune of other people's efforts to be able to move forward with your life."
The experience gave her a new perspective and appreciation for the simple things in life.
"It resulted in me being able to wake up and do normal things like make lunches and drop kids off at school and bedtime stories, you know, snuggle at night," Wrobel said. "It's for simple things that really, really matter. And I'm just so fortunate every day to have an incredible spouse and life partner. Jeff is amazing, as well as two beautiful kids and they're a lot of fun."
Wrobel is now the mother of two little boys and said she wakes up every morning grateful for another day to try again.
The two-day Great Chicago Blood Drive event is scheduled for January 11th and 12th at seven Chicago area locations. You can sign up for an appointment here.
