If it wasn’t for the stem cell transplant that Sherry Hanley received from Hendrik Gericks nine years ago, it would have been over for her.
On Sept. 9, 2015, Hanley, 67, of Slatington was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, a type of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow, moving into the bloodstream and spreading throughout the body.
“I had a little bit sore on my hand, which is what I went to the doctor for. With my job I was in and out of the prison on a daily basis and they had an outbreak of MRSA in the prison. We thought it was MRSA,” said Hanley, a former Lehigh County sheriff’s deputy.
It ended up being something even deadlier than MRSA. She had to quit her job as a deputy so she could be hospitalized and was given half a year to live.
However, on Friday morning, years later, Hanley and Gericks, 28, of Gronau, Germany, met at the Lehigh County Courthouse. The emotional moment for both of them was set up by the Lehigh County Sheriff’s Office. Hanley was teary-eyed and Gericks was beaming during the meeting.
“My genetic twin here, Hendrik was a perfect match for me,“ Hanley said. “I have some side effects that I still deal with — always will the rest of my life. But I’m here thanks to Hendrik and the program. I can’t tell you how much this means to me.”
Gericks said the full weight of the moment was something it would probably take him a while to process.
“It’s so incredibly emotional in my eyes to see Sherry, how she is here with her colleagues and friends. Everyone is so grateful to see me that I could change or even saved her life,” Gericks said.
Stem cell transplant
Stem cells are produced in bone marrow and many other tissues of the body. These cells can divide into more stem cells or turn into certain specialized cells throughout the body, such as nerve cells, cardiac muscle cells and blood cells, replacing older cells. Stem cells are essential, but some people’s bodies may not produce enough of them or they may have lost stem cells to cancer or cancer treatment. Hanley said without a transplant, her leukemia was untreatable.
However, was able to track down a donor for her relatively quickly. While two donors were not available, a third donor, a certain young man in Germany, was a suitable match for her.
Gericks said in Germany it is common for people to register as stem cell donors — there are public service presentations at schools and workplaces where the importance of becoming a donor is stressed. Yet it’s rare for anyone to actually be called upon to become a donor.
“Other people are registered and do not become a donor for many years. For example, our parents are also registered and they never donated anything,” Gericks said. “Then I knew, OK, this is something very special and a very big chance.”
He said for a while he stopped drinking when he went out with his buddies. When it came time for him to donate, he went to a clinic in Cologne, Germany, was injected with a needle and watched a movie while stem cells were siphoned out of his body.
But that leisurely clinic visit gave Hanley the opportunity to keep living. Her cancer went into remission after the transplant on Jan. 6, 2016, and hasn’t come back since, though recovery took a while.
“Everything that I was born with is gone. They need to wipe you. You have zero immunity,” Hanley said. “You’re like a bubble boy. I couldn’t touch any fruit. I couldn’t do anything like that because of bacteria.”
Getting in touch
Two years later, the minimum time they were required to wait before beginning contact, Hanley and Gericks began corresponding through letters they sent through the donor agency.
It’s normal for someone who received a lifesaving transplant to never meet their donor, either due to circumstance, disinterest by either party of connecting or the privacy policy of the donation organization. But in this case, both wanted to try correspondence.
“It’s really just exchanging life things. He never asked me, ‘Hi, how are you doing.’ kind of things. He told me about his school, he went back for a master’s degree. That he moved, jobs stuff, other basic stuff,” Hanley said.
In turn, Hanley shared things from her life such as photos of the Belgian shepherds she trains and puts in dog shows, which Gericks said he appreciated. And they’ve kept it up over the last seven years.
Hanley said she wanted to fly to Germany but due to her compromised immune system, her doctor has advised against it.
But Gericks and his partner Natalie Mielczarek made a trip to the U.S. The two spent the last several days in New York exploring the city, before coming by bus to the Lehigh Valley on Thursday, their stay at the Hotel Bethlehem covered by the Lehigh County Sheriff’s Office. Once they leave the Lehigh Valley, the couple said they will go to Canada to visit friends.
However, Gericks will be taking home more than just memories from his visit to the Lehigh Valley. Sheriff Joseph Hanna personally presented him with a framed proclamation, patches, a magnet and a challenge coin.
“We are eternally grateful for your generosity and ultimately saving the life of our sister Sherry. May you have peace and solace in knowing that you personify every aspect of nobleness in our human mankind,” a section of the proclamation said.
Those who wish to register as stem cell and bone marrow donors can do so by going to .
