This morning I had the most wonderful conversation with my five year old, Alexia. She had climbed into bed with me after her Dad had left for work. After we cuddled and slept for a few hours, we woke up, she looked at me and asked, “Mommy are you sick or tired”? I replied, “I am both baby”, she then said, “are you going to stay in the hospital”? I said, “yes why”? She said, “who is going to take care of us”, I said, “Daddy will”, she then replied “Daddy can’t cook or wash the towels”, I told her that I will teach him everything, she asked, “are you going to stay long in the hospital”, I replied, “I don’t know, but let’s trust God and everything will be okay. She hugged me and said, “you are the best Mommy ever, I am glad you are my Mom”.

My name is Marcia Karyo Williams, I am a 37 year old stay at home mom of two beautiful, wonderful, girls. I have a teenage daughter from my first marriage named Shai, age 14. Henry is Shai’s father and is to this day a very good friend of both Andy and me. Andy, my husband, whom I have been with for ten years, and I have a 5 year old daughter named Lexi. Our family is a truly happy foursome.

I am the first of seven children. My Mother gave birth to me at only 16 years old. She was unmarried, and the man that got her pregnant wanted nothing to do with her, or me. I was born pre-mature at seven months and weighed 3 pounds. Back then in the parish of St. Thomas, Jamaica it was not expected for a 3 pound baby to survive, so my Mom believes I am a little miracle.

I moved to Kingston with my Mom when I was eleven years old, my life was not an easy one. I believe I am both blessed, and lucky to have endured some of the hardships of Kingston. My life changed when I gave birth to my first daughter, Shai. I wanted her to have an easier life than I had experienced, therefore, I moved to America. I have never forgotten my Jamaican roots and the city of Kingston; they have taught me so much about life and survival. These skills I am finding useful in my current battle today.

I am truly happy, and life is good most of the time. My husband, Andy is a professional soccer player. He has played professional soccer for the majority of our married life, and is currently playing for the MLS team, Real Salt Lake. He travels a lot in his career, however, when he is home, we do EVERYTHING together as a family. I have come to realize that my girls, and husband, cannot imagine life without me, a reality that we may now have to face.

Utah has been our home for 4 years and I feel very blessed to be here. In May of this year, 2008, I began not feeling well, fatigue mostly. After having blood work completed, I found out that my blood counts were very low. At the end of June the doctor’s suggested a bone marrow biopsy. On July 3, 2008, we received the terrible news that it was Leukemia. My world stopped, I wanted so very badly for it not to be true. I wished and prayed for it to just go away. I soon realized from talking with the doctors, that it would not go away that easy. I have since learned that it will take aggressive chemo and a bone marrow transplant to have a chance of beating this rare form of leukemia (AML type 6).

After receiving this news, we told our friends, most family members, my husband’s coaches and a few teammates at first. They made it clear that they would do whatever it took to help. One of our friends, someone I now refer to as “my angel on earth” Deb Harper, a mother of three, with a full time job, has taken time out of her life to help fight this battle with me. She has founded Soccer Unites www.soccerunitesutah.com (with a great video from the Golf Outing) with the help of some really compassionate and wonderful people, many of them some just ordinary “soccer moms” who somehow are able to relate to my ordeal with amazing compassion and understanding.

Soccer Unites was established to help offset the tremendous medical expenses associated with my Leukemia, and bone marrow transplant. Also, to help bring awareness and stress the importance of finding a bone marrow donor who will match, and may be able to save my life.

Deb and the volunteers of “Soccer Unites Utah” are in the process of organizing a bone marrow drive here in Utah, and working with friends to do the same in other states. There will soon be a kit available on the Soccer Unites Website that you can send back in to see if you are a match. It is as simple as swabbing your mouth. You see, with all the love, help and support we have received, I am still desperately in need a bone marrow transplant. So far, the doctors have not found a match. We have been told that only 8% of African American people are on the bone marrow registry. This makes it much more difficult for me, or any other African American person to find a suitable match. The doctors have told us that my match will most likely come from an African American donor, but there is still a chance that a donor from another race can be a match.

I am asking you, PLEASE, please think about the lives you could save, my life, among many other moms, dads, and babies can be saved if you sign up and become a donor. I ask you to please help me and the many others out there. I have a very rare tissue type, along with a very rare form of Leukemia. I know the donor who is a match for me is out there, but if you are not tested, I will never find you. My children and husband need me in their lives, and I need them. For more information on how to become a donor please go to the website www.dkmsamerica.org.

Everyone in the soccer community has donated, and given so much, our friends, our church, our Real Salt Lake family, the organization, players and fans, the entire community has offered and helped in so many ways. To all of this I say thank you. Once I am well, “Soccer Unites” will go on. “The Power of Soccer Coming Together” has proved to be a very powerful and uplifting organization. I too want the chance to make a difference in someone’s life as you all have in mine. Andy and I are very humbled to be a part of this legacy and look forward to the day we can give back.

PLEASE HELP ME, MY FAMILY AND THE MANY OTHERS WHO ARE SUFFERING WITH THIS TERRIBLE DISEASE, IT REALLY DOESN’T TAKE MUCH. THANK YOU SO MUCH.

God Bless,
Marcia Karyo Williams

I’ve known both Andy and Marcia for about 11 years now and can’t even begin to put into words the type of people they are and it’s great to see so many people make so much of an effort to help them in so many different ways.