There isn’t a day that goes by when Robin Roberts doesn’t count her blessings. After all, there was a time following the Good Morning America anchor’s 2012 bone marrow transplant where she worried she wouldn’t live to see another day.
Opening up in WebMD magazine’s May issue, Roberts, 54, explained that following her successful transplant (using donated bone marrow from her exact match sister, Sally-Ann) she had a rough road to recovery.
“One night post-transplant I was convinced I was slipping away,” Roberts (who bravely battled the rare blood disease MDS, myelodysplastic syndrome) said. “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.”
It was the support of Roberts’ nurses, doctors, and fans across the country who kept Roberts upbeat during her leave from GMA. “They didn’t forget about me, and you don’t take that for granted. There isn’t a day that someone hasn’t said, ‘I prayed for you,'” Roberts, who dates NYC massage therapist Amber Laign, told WebMD (via E!).
With her new lease on life, Roberts is paying it forward for others suffering from medical challenges. One of her top priorities since her MDS diagnosis has been to bring awareness to Be the Match, which partners donors with patients in need.
“When I made the announcement about my disease, I knew there was going to be an outcry, and I was partnered with Be the Match to channel that,” Roberts explained. “When you’re going through a mess, find the message in it not just for yourself, but for other people.”
