In January 2020, Jack and Becky Miller became empty nesters, with their children in college or with their own families. Jack, a pilot and captain instructor for a national airline, and Becky had their bucket list primed, full of ideas and adventures they were eager to check off — including a sailing trip to the British Virgin Islands — when a sudden confluence of ailments caused Jack to collapse.
He was taken to an ER close to his home in Newnan, Georgia, where he was treated for pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), sepsis and a staff infection in his bloodstream. He was intubated and put on life-support with low expectations of recovery. Fortunately, Jack was stabilized in the ER after a few days, but because of the severity of Jack’s condition — and a suspected diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia — he was airlifted to Northside Hospital Atlanta.
At Northside, Jack continued to be intubated while being treated for his many ailments and was placed on a RotoProne bed, a treatment for severe respiratory failure that involves turning a patient with precise motions to improve oxygen flow to a patient’s lungs and blood flow through their body. After many tests, Jack’s doctor — Dr. Kent Holland — confirmed a life-changing diagnosis: Jack had acute myelogenous leukemia. Jack remained in a medically induced coma for six weeks. During this time, Becky took charge of Jack’s medical decisions, acting as his advocate and adhered to Dr. Holland and his medical team, who advised treating Jack’s leukemia with intensive chemotherapy.
As Jack underwent a first round of chemotherapy, his doctors realized chemo alone would not be enough to put his cancer in remission long-term, so the Northside Hospital Blood and Marrow Transplant (BMT) Program team began searching for a bone marrow donor. To find a 10/10 human leukocyte antigens (HLA)-matched suitable donor, HLA tissue typing testing was performed on Jack’s siblings. In addition to his siblings, many people in Jack’s life, including other family members and friends, were tested to see if they were a match; his son was the closest match, but not perfect. None of Jack’s siblings or friends were a suitable HLA tissue match. The transplant team then began to search NMDP (formerly known as Be the Match), a nonprofit that finds donors for leukemia patients through its national registry — to see if a perfect HLA-matched donor could be located for Jack. The marrow search was complicated by pandemic restrictions that limited Jack’s bone marrow donor options to those found in the United States.
Dr. Holland recalled, “As soon as Jack came under the care of the Northside BMT Program, we began to test his family for a perfect HLA identically matched donor. Jack did not have a family member that was an HLA match, which complicated our goal of having a donor lined up once Jack’s second dose of chemotherapy was completed, but our transplant team was able to find a perfect HLA match in the NMDP Registry for Jack’s transplant, which gave him his only chance of being cured of his acute leukemia.”
Doctors knew the key to a successful transplant meant making sure Jack’s leukemia was 100% in remission. To achieve this, Jack was treated with a second dose of chemotherapy, which succeeded in eliminating the cancerous cells completely and put Jack in full remission.
With Jack’s leukemia in remission, his recovery journey was just beginning. After waking from his coma, Jack was weaned off some of the medicines and endured the difficult process of dealing with being intubated, then having a tracheotomy, IV tubes and — after nine weeks of lying in a hospital bed — severe muscle atrophy. He’d lost 45 pounds and, at first, found it hard to simply sit up in bed.
“Learning to breathe, swallow and walk on my own again were some of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do,” Jack remembered.
He was discharged from Northside in March and was encouraged to continue his physical therapy, regain his strength and prepare for a bone marrow transplant since the leukemia chemotherapy regimen he was given would only keep the cancer in remission for a short time.
With Jack’s unrelated donor identified, coordination for his eventual transplant began in earnest and was another complex process entirely.
“My donor, Tristan Briggs — whose name I didn’t learn until a year after the procedure due to program guidelines — was initially out of reach on military orders,” Jack recalled. “The DoD Bone Marrow Registry folks stepped in and decided to contact his emergency contact — his mom — who received the donor request email and held onto it for a few weeks until she asked if he recalled signing up with the organization to help facilitate transplants. Tristan forgot he’d even signed up for the NMDP Registry, but he didn’t waver on his original commitment, and it saved my life. I’m incredibly grateful for his courage and selflessness.”
Throughout the entire process, Northside’s transplant team prepared Jack. In a detailed meeting with Dr. Holland, Jack, Becky and Dr. Holland reviewed complications and struggles Jack may face during the pre- and post-transplant process, extensive blood and radiology testing and in-depth education to make the treatment and recovery as effective as possible. With Jack ready for the infusion, The National Marrow Donor Program team coordinated Tristan’s bone marrow donation at one of their transplant donation centers.
After the stem cell transplant infusion, Jack was treated at the Blood and Marrow Transplant Group of Georgia (BMTGA) — part of the Northside BMT Program — outpatient clinical facility where intensive treatment and monitoring were performed. He and Becky started making a daily, one-hour trek to and from the BMTGA clinic over the next several months. Jack’s treatment involved seven to eight hours of blood and other transfusions, antibiotics and additional required medications. Becky was not allowed in the clinic due to COVID restrictions and waited in the parking garage every day. Despite the emotional and physical tolls, every visit with Dr. Holland and his team at Northside demonstrated the treatment was working and that Jack and his family were taking the right steps to ensure his recovery.
“Without the remarkable expertise of the Northside Atlanta ICU physicians, nurses, inpatient and outpatient BMT nursing staff and the BMTGA physicians, Jack most likely would not have survived his battle with pneumonia and acute leukemia,” said Dr. Holland. “Over the past 15 years, our program has exceeded predicted one-year allogeneic transplant survival rates, according to the Centers for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR). We’re proud of our 82% one-year survival rate for patients like Jack, but we believe it was not just the state-of-the art medical care Jack received that enabled him to fight through and survive, but his driving inner strength, determination and the continuous support of his wife and family, too.”
Jack’s survival experience was enhanced when, after a year of patiently waiting for NMDP’s one-year embargo on donor connections to expire, he had the opportunity to meet with Tristan, who was in many ways, just like him. As it turned out, Tristan was also a pilot who, instead of flying commercial planes, flew planes in the U.S. Air Force. Their occupational similarities extended to their outlook on life, with both men finding value in determination, family and faith.
“Our families were able to meet, and we’ve created some new and fun memories over big Southern barbeque meals,” Jack described. “He has a lovely wife, a beautiful new baby and two big dogs. I can’t thank him enough for what he’s done — they’re family to us now.”
After he started his recovery process, a previously scuttled dream of sailing the British Virgin Islands finally came to fruition — two years after his transplant.
“The first time we set sail was just the way I’d envisioned it,” he recalled. “We set out for a week and have been going back every year since. Everyone that hears about the trip wants to come, so we just keep getting more boats and planning for the next year!”
Jack and Becky’s last visit to Northside BMT was with another doctor who helped treat Jack, Dr. Lawrence Morris, in June 2023 — three years post-transplant — where Jack learned his leukemia was definitively in remission and that there was no reason to continue his clinic visits. Jack and Becky hugged and thanked Dr. Morris and the rest of Jack’s medical team — including his favorite nurse who always offered positive encouragement — for saving his life.
The acknowledgment that Jack was in recovery allowed him to continue pursuing his sailing passion, becoming a sailing captain, while also fostering deeper ties with his four children and grandson from his eldest daughter, after having spent time away from them during his recovery journey. He has been blessed with two more grandchildren, another from his eldest daughter and one from his son, since his recovery. He also found time to teach his youngest daughter how to fly a plane, showing her how in his own Grumman Cheetah airplane. What’s more, Jack was able to help her successfully navigate the interview process for becoming an airline pilot. He was also able to give his other daughter away at her wedding and attend her master’s degree graduation ceremony.
Once it was time to think about returning to work (one of Jack’s priorities after his recovery), he found his employer was more than willing to offer assistance and support. Still, even with their support, Jack had to work through hurdles, including re-training and strict healthcare guidelines, but, eventually, was able to return to work after four years. For Jack, being re-instated and approved to fly a commercial plane was a sign his life was finding a new normal and a major capstone to his medical ordeal.
“It takes a village — for both my wife and I to disappear and have others take care of our house, our pets and our family; it’s a blessing to be surrounded by our tight-knit community of family and friends. That’s also why I want to share my story, to build on community so others who are going through something similar can have the information I was initially looking for, especially as a pilot. You can get back to a new normal and I’m very thankful I was able to get back to flying and that the doors were open for me. I have a great employer that truly cares and has allowed me to pick up where I left off as an Airbus 350 captain instructor and gave me time to find a new balance.”
After witnessing the gift of life that was given to their father, Jack’s children have volunteered to be future donors for the organization that helped him find the perfect match, so they can help other patients who may be looking for a donor through the National Marrow Donor Program.
“I can’t thank my family and the entire Northside staff enough. If anyone out there is reading this and going through something similar, I encourage you to look for the care you need at Northside BMT. My family put their faith in Northside’s BMT program because of its incredible reputation; if you need high-quality care in Georgia, it’s available here. I would urge others to listen to their body and be as prepared as you can be for the unexpected events life throws your way.”
Learn more about the Blood and Marrow Transplant Program at Northside.
*The health story shared here is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. Patients should consult with their own physician before making medical decisions.
