Saskatoon’s ‘Run for Mandi’ includes couple connected through Schwartz

The eighth annual “Run for Mandi” at River Landing in Saskatoon on Sunday featured two special guests.

In 2013, Michael Hellrich was at a St. Louis Blues game when he made the decision to become a bone marrow donor at one of the drives the NHL team set up in Mandi Schwartz’s honour.

The Blues stepped up for the cause because Schwartz’s brother, Jaden, is a long-time member of the team.

Four years later, Hellrich was at home eating supper when he got an email that said he was a potential match for an 18-year-old woman with leukemia.

“(We) pondered over it for about half an hour; it didn’t take long,” Hellrich recalled Sunday. “To be able to know you have the potential to save someone’s life, it’s kind of a no-brainer.”

Hellrich decided to go through the screenings and the process to ensure the match was perfect.

Meanwhile, Regan Brown was 17 years old and freshly graduated from high school when she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia.

The teen from Alabama said she was told that her final chance was a transplant, and that chemo wouldn’t work.

She went to New Orleans, where she was told there was only one 10 out of 10 match, and that the donor would be going through with the transplant to save Brown’s life.

Hellrich and Brown didn’t end up meeting until January of this year, when the Blues brought them together at a game, along with the Schwartz family.

Brown said it was surreal when the two finally met.

“I was really nervous to begin with …,” she said. “He didn’t have to do it, but he did. Being able to thank him, and meet him and his family, it was well worth everything I that had to go through.”

Mandi Schwartz’s smile never faded as she battled leukemia. Now, thanks to her family’s fight to keep her legacy alive and a bone marrow registry at a #stlblues game, a life has been saved.

Get the tissues ready. This is one incredible story. pic.twitter.com/UlSSmARNcD

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) January 24, 2019

Sunday was the third time the two had come together.

Their story impacted many, including the Schwartz family. The family brought the duo to Saskatchewan to show what donation can really do.

“The Blues and the Schwartz family have, then and all the way through now, been very kind to us and (have helped us) use our story to attempt to get more people to sign up for the registry so we can have more stories like (Brown) out there,” Hellrich said.

The two went to Saturday’s bone marrow registry drive in Saskatoon, and Brown said seeing the impact Mandi has had is something special.

“I think it’s awesome that they’re doing all this to get everybody on the registry, and still doing this for Mandi,” Brown said. “Still living out her legacy, I think it’s pretty awesome that everybody’s coming together and doing this for the Schwartz family.”

During Saturday’s drive, Rick Schwartz — the father of Jaden and Mandi — said they had more than 100 people sign up for the registry.

Rick said having Brown and Hellrich at the two events has made delivering the message about the importance of bone marrow donations easier to illustrate.

“That’s what it’s all about …,” he said. “People get that second chance at life and Regan’s such a nice young lady. Now she gets to move on with her life, and things have changed for her. We’re happy to have (them) here.”

Mandi died in 2011 after a battle with acute myeloid leukemia — the same disease with which Brown was diagnosed.

Now, eight years since Mandi’s death, her mother Carol said days like Sunday show Mandi’s true legacy.

“The whole meaning of Mandi’s legacy is to help people get on that donor list and to see the matches,” Carol said. “To see successful matches, (and to see them meet) … that’s what Mandi’s legacy is about now, is helping to save lives.”