I can’t begin to count the moments at Johns Hopkins Medicine when I’ve been able to witness the intersection of medical education, groundbreaking research and stellar patient care. Those moments happen here every day in ways large and small. When I see one, I try to take some time to appreciate it. 

As an example, I’d like to share one such moment that has stayed with me, centered on a man who lives on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, named Mark-keys Moore. He struggled daily to avoid situations that could trigger a painful episode related to his sickle cell disease. Hot weather. Cold weather. Stress. Travel. Certain foods. Frequent and painful flare-ups meant missing out on many of life’s most precious experiences. 

Mark-keys was 24 years old last spring when he enrolled in a clinical trial at Johns Hopkins. Diagnosed at a young age, Mark-keys could no longer walk and needed powerful pain medication every six hours. To keep him as pain-free as possible during the drive from Salisbury to East Baltimore, Mark-keys’ in-laws wedged a mattress into the back of their van. 

As part of the clinical trial, Mark-keys would undergo a bone marrow transplant under the care of Dr. Robert Brodsky, whose distinguished career has been dedicated to finding a cure for sickle cell and other blood diseases.

Sickle cell disease affects millions of people around the world. In our country, the genetic trait that causes sickle cell disease is found most often in African Americans. Since it was first identified more than 150 years ago, the painful condition has disrupted and shortened countless lives. Dr. Brodsky’s work, alongside other physician-scientists in the Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, found that a “haploidentical” bone marrow donor match could provide a cure in certain cases of sickle cell disease. 

With his cousin as a generous donor, Mark-keys underwent chemotherapy and total-body radiation to wipe out his own bone marrow, which produced the misshapen red blood cells that caused such painful episodes. After a transplant using his cousin’s bone marrow and a monthlong hospital stay, Mark-keys was cured of his sickle cell disease. In November, he returned to our East Baltimore medical campus to tell his story. 

I was deeply moved listening to Mark-keys’ account of his journey. The intolerable pain affected not just Mark-keys, but his family as well. Only a few months removed from his curative therapy, Mark-keys told us that, so far, the highlight of his post-sickle cell life was the day he took his 1-year-old son for a late autumn nature walk in the woods. This is particularly profound, as he has not been able to go for an outdoor walk in the cold for many years, as it would have triggered a flare of his disease. Now, with his young son, he is able to enjoy one of life’s simple yet important pleasures without fear.

Because of first-rate medical education, bold research and world-class clinical care, Mark-keys has started a new life, full of the joy and wonder he had missed during his first 24 years. He can now look forward to milestone events rather than dread them. He can be a full participant in his son’s life. 

That’s what makes Johns Hopkins special to me: The medical and graduate students, the fellows, and the residents who work with Dr. Brodsky gained the extraordinary experience of helping cure a patient. Decades of hard work, research and discovery made Mark-keys’ treatment possible. And compassionate, state-of-the-art clinical care cured a young man, allowing a path for a long, rich life. I remain so very lucky to be a part of this great institution.