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Epilogues: 'Counting on a Miracle' by Ellen Mazo, photos by Robin Rombach, ran July 19 and 20 Sunday, December 20, 1998 Ellen Mazo, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
Bryce Maretzki, 35, diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia in 1992, underwent a risky bone marrow transplant in March. This was after a previous transplant using his own bone marrow because he could not find a compatible donor. Doctors said that unless his diseased bone marrow was successfully replaced, he would die.
It officially took 28 minutes for Bryce Maretzki to run a 5-kilometer race on Oct 4. But it had been a much longer, harder road to the finish line.
"I'm scared. I admit it," Maretzki had said shortly before entering Western Pennsylvania Hospital in March. "My life is never going to be the same as I know it."
He was the 24th patient in a treatment plan devised by Dr. Suzanne Ildstad - known for her 1995 transplantation of a baboon's bone marrow into the body of a human AIDS patient. Her protocol uses a minute number of cells to promote the engraftment of incompatible bone marrow.
Old stories, new endings
'Caught in the web of poverty'
Nine months later, Maretzki is leukemia-free.
The avid marathoner is running again, and he has a new job and a new outlook.
"We learned that this is doable," said Maretzki's doctor, Richard Shadduck, director of the Western Pennsylvania Cancer Institute.
The Philadelphia Chromosome, the indicator in his type of leukemia, is gone. Martezki no longer takes steroids or anti-rejection drugs. He has gained weight. His skin is dry - a possible indication of bone marrow rejection - but so far it appears to be a manifestation of arid, winter weather. He goes for checkups every three weeks.
"This has been the year of the roller coaster," Maretzki said. "I'm beginning to feel very excited. You lose the feeling about each tomorrow, but suddenly you start thinking long term."
Doctors still warn that the next two years are critical. By five years, he has an estimated 90 percent chance of long-term survival.
"I think about it a little bit, but I wouldn't say I'm paranoid," he said. "Really, it's been a remarkable year."
For the first time, Maretzki has started making plans.
He returned to his adjunct faculty position at Duquesne Law School and has switched jobs. He is now a program officer for the Pittsburgh Partnership for Neighborhood Development.
"My role is to look at comprehensive community development," he said. "That's long-term. I'm thinking long-term."
Looking ahead had been only a vague memory. For too long, his life seemed like a day-to-day survival course.
A veteran of 29 marathons, he now is talking about running his 30th in the year 2000. Hearing his own words, Maretzki stops short. "I can't believe I'm even thinking about that. I'm beginning to feel very excited about things. I could not have conceived this five months ago, much less a year ago. Craig [his brother] and I are planning a vacation in Hawaii in February. February. That's two months away. It's amazing."
Maretzki ran the 3.2-mile race in October with Samantha Roth, his girlfriend.
"We stopped briefly only because of me," she said. "I'm such a wimp. If it hurts, I stop. Not Bryce. He's doing so well physically. I know he'll be running a marathon by next summer.
"Not too long ago we were in the car in Mt. Lebanon," Roth added. "Bryce got this smile on his face. I asked him what he was thinking about. You know what he said?
"'How great life is.' "
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