'I would not be here today': B.C. cancer survivor meets blood donor who helped save her life

Vancouver Island resident Judee Bowman Reid was nearing death about a decade ago when she was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer — and then a stranger thousands of kilometres away stepped in and changed everything.

She underwent three years of chemotherapy trying to battle non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of cancer that starts in white blood cells, which are part of the body’s immune system.

Running out of choices, her only remaining option was a blood stem cell transplant and fortunately for her, it only took four months to find a match.

"It was just an amazing day. I'm not a gambler but I really hit the jackpot on that one,” she said.

After a successful surgery, she contacted her blood donor, a woman from Nova Scotia named Veronica Marshall-Bernard, through Canadian Blood Services’ Stem Cell Registry. A friendship quickly blossomed.

After eight years of phone calls and text messages, the pair united on Sunday at the Vancouver International Airport.

"It felt surreal. I felt this day wouldn't come,” said Marshall-Bernard.

“We've been trying to meet and it was absolutely everything,” she continued.

Reid said she was overwhelmed with joy to finally meet the woman who helped save her life.

"I would not be here today and would not have experienced a very much longer life," she said of what the donation meant to her.

Reid, who is Métis, and Marshall-Bernard, who is Miꞌkmaq, said their Indigenous background helped with the match.

According to the Canadian Blood Services website, “Indigenous people make up less than two per cent of all prospective donors on Canada’s stem cell registry.”

Given these low numbers, the pair hope their story inspires others to register for the program and donate as well.

"To find out that we were a potential match, to a best match, to pretty well a perfect match, was really exciting. Everything aligned well,” said Marshall-Bernard.

"I'm just really happy to be here and I'm happy Judee is here as well,” she added.

The two women now consider each other family.

"She's my girl, you know!” Reid laughed.

The pair plan on spending the week together with Reid’s family and exploring the province.

Marshall-Bernard continues to donate blood and said she would undergo the process of the transplant again if it means potentially saving another life.