Brother Willingly Faces Second Marrow Donation

Tyler Sedra knows what he’s in for. He’s done it all before. And he really, really, really doesn’t want to be a month in Seattle, where doctors will poke and prod and harvest marrow from his pelvic bone.

But seven years after the first time, that’s just what’s happening.

“Option? What’s an option?” Ty asks, a dry humor seen only in his wry smile.

Ty’s younger brother, Garett, 18, needs a second bone marrow transplant. Ty provided the first one in 1991 and he’s going to do it again this month. Everyone in the Sedra family hopes this one lasts longer than the first one did.

“Garett is not the only one with leukemia in this family,” Ty says. He doesn’t mean this literally, but the sentiment shows how seriously he takes his responsibility. “Wherever he goes, I go.”

As Garett’s only sibling, 21-year-old Ty is the best donor. The brothers and their mother, Sheryl Sedra, left the Spokane Valley on Wednesday for the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. Their hope is that in this transplant Ty’s bone marrow will forever act as a trainer to Garett’s bone marrow, preventing a relapse of his leukemia.

Garett was diagnosed with leukemia when he was 22 months old. His first bone marrow transplant came when he was 11 and Ty was 14.

Ty never hesitated, either time. “I’ve been more selfish this time, though. The first time I just thought about my little brother. But this time, I’ve got a wife and a kid,” Ty says.

Transplant day is July 29. A nurse will carry the marrow down the hall, from one brother to the other.

Both brothers will have lengthy recoveries.

“Seven years may seem like a long time to some people. But it seems to me like we just got home yesterday,” he says, remembering the intense pain of recovery, the “Fred Hutch shuffle” - the teeny steps he took at first, warding off more pain - and the year he spent afterwards catching every cold and flu around.

“Someone would sneeze a block away from me and I would get sick,” he said.

The procedure of harvesting the bone marrow in 1991 involved six incisions across Ty’s pelvic bone. A probe was inserted 36 times in each spot, taking marrow.

“Let’s see, 36 times six. That’s 216 pokes into my pelvic bone,” Ty says, fingering the scar tissue on his lower back. That yielded 680 cc’s of marrow - almost enough to fill a 32-ounce pop bottle.

The Sedras expect the procedure to have changed some in the seven years. They hope for more post-op care for Tyler; Sheryl is ready to go into her Mother Bear routine.

“I have no trouble doing that,” she says, laughing. Conversation ricochets around the small apartment where Sheryl, Bob and Garett live. The Sedras jumped for insurance in 1995 when then-Gov. Mike Lowry opened a window making insurance available for those with existing illnesses. The family still lives modestly.

The Sedra brothers both love cars. Ty makes extra money, beyond his job at Schuck’s Auto Parts, doing mechanic work. He’s anxious to start at Spokane Community College this fall, to strengthen his mechanic skills. Someday, he dreams of designing more efficient farm machinery.

Ty calls Garett his best helper in the garage.

Garett, in turn, says the best thing about Ty is his helpfulness.

Ty and his wife, Heidi, have an 8-month-old boy Corvin. Their next child is expected this fall.

Garett graduated from University High School this spring. He’s headed toward the chef’s program at SCC this fall, his health allowing.

“I just like to cook,” Garett says.

Ty urges Garett to use the word chef instead of cook.

“When you say cook, I think of Denny’s,” Ty says. “When you say chef, I think of Beverly’s.”

On the phone a few days before they leave for Seattle, Sheryl asks, “Did you catch that good brother stuff? They just love each other so much.”

“It’s so hard for me to put into words - without crying,” Sheryl says. “To me, Ty is the hero of the day.”