“Good Morning America” co-anchor Robin Roberts revealed recently that she almost died following a bone marrow transplant to treat the blood disease myelodysplastic syndrome.
The newswoman opened up about the
experience in an interview with WebMD Magazine for its 10th anniversary issue.
"I was convinced I was slipping away. It was one of those rare moments when I had gotten everybody out of the room for the night. I'm tired, I miss my mom, I'm sick, I can't eat,” Roberts told the magazine. "And then I heard a voice saying my name over and over again. There was a nurse named Jenny, pleading with me not to slip away. I don't know what would have happened if she wasn't there."
Roberts developed the rare blood disease after receiving radiation and chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer.
She previously described feeling like she wanted to die in an
interview with "Entertainment Tonight."
"There was a time that I wanted to die,” Roberts told the program last year. “I didn't know if I thought I would, but I was in so much pain, so much anguish, discomfort. My throat felt like I had swallowed a blow torch. I couldn't swallow."
Roberts counted her nurses among her 10 health heroes featured in the WebMD Magazine article. She also gave credit to her doctors; her sister Sally-Ann, who provided the bone marrow transplant; her partner, massage therapist Amber Laign; her friends and family; her colleagues; her parents; and her fans.
She described the support she received after returning to work after being off the air for six months.
“They didn't forget me, and you don't take that for granted. There isn't a day that someone hasn't said, ‘I prayed for you.’” Roberts said. “When I came back, oh gosh, it was so wonderful. There was a great crowd outside, people with signs, people who called in sick that day and stayed home to watch. And I feel the love.”
The Be A Match bone marrow transplant registry also played a role in Roberts’ story, with more than 44,000 people joining the registry after she did.
“My mama always said, ‘Make your mess your message,’” Roberts told WebMD Magazine. “When you're going through a mess, find the message in it not just for yourself, but for other people.”
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