January 25, 2023
Boca Raton, FL, – Peter Grehlinger, a 61-year-old survivor of Acute Myelogenous Leukemia met the man who saved his life with a blood stem cell transplant, 34-year-old Tory Foster. The heartwarming and emotional introduction took place at the Gift of Life Marrow Registry Steps for Life 5k Run & Walk in Boca Raton January 22, 2023 at the FAU Stadium.
Grehlinger, an engineer, husband and father of two resides in Allentown, N.J. and was thrilled to meet Foster, a father of an 11-year-old son from The Villages, Fla. The two had never met before, as transplants are anonymous for the first year under federal regulations.
Foster, who donated to Grehlinger in August 2021, joined the registry in 2019 at a Misfits Gaming viewing party held at Florida Southern College.
The two were introduced by Gift of Life Steps for Life 5k co-founders and co-chairs Wendy Schulman, Dana Aberman and Donna Krasner. After sharing Grehlinger’s story with attendees, they invited Foster to join them and meet his recipient for the first time. The emotional pair shared a warm hug and were thrilled to finally meet each other.“With my donors DNA ‘floating around inside of me’, we share a natural bond,” said Grehlinger. “I hope Tory realizes what a great deed he has done.”
“I’ve always wanted to help people, and this was the ultimate way of helping someone,” said Foster. “I was very happy about being able to do something like this for someone. You could be the reason someone sees tomorrow.”