Seeking ‘Hope4Adam,’ they found it

When 31-year-old Adam Krief started chemotherapy this past summer for a rare form of blood cancer, he knew it wouldn’t save his life; it could only buy him time.

In dire need of a bone marrow transplant, not a single person out of the 13 million people on the national bone marrow registry was a match. Without a transplant, the father of three’s diagnosis of primary myelofibrosis was a death sentence. 

“At the beginning, we felt so isolated,” his wife, Lia, recalled, speaking by phone at her husband’s bedside at City of Hope in Duarte. “We just had all those feelings of ‘Why is this happening to us?’ ” 

Needing a miracle, Adam and Lia turned to social media to get the word out. They created an Instagram account (@hope4adam) and a “Hope4Adam” Facebook page that has received more than 13,000 “likes” to date. Bone marrow donor drives organized by friends and extended family were held in France, Israel and Mexico. 

Celebrities including Mayim Bialik and Kim Kardashian West caught wind of Adam’s story through mutual friends and children’s school connections, too. The Jewish “Big Bang Theory” actress and the reality television star promoted his cause on their social media accounts, encouraging people to become donors and join the registry. 

And as the season of miracles approached, so did the answer to their prayers: Last week, Adam found a match. 

A lifesaving transplant is scheduled for Dec. 15 at City of Hope, according to Lia. Medical privacy laws prevent the Kriefs from knowing details about the match, but Lia said the drives designated for finding Adam a compatible donor actually resulted in seven matches. The feat isn’t lost on the grateful West Los Angeles family, who are members at Baba Sale Congregation. 

“To be a part of something like that is inspirational,” Lia said. 

Lia said that watching cancer wage war on the healthy body of her husband — normally an avid baskeball fan, skateboarder and snowboarder — has been torture for her family, which includes their three children: 4-year-old Lev, 2-year-old Joel, and 10-month-old Luca.

“I think the hardest part was seeing this 31-year-old athletic guy feel constantly tired, achy and in pain,” she said. “At times he would feel really down and it was very difficult to see him going through that. We found out about his cancer a few months after our son’s bris. We just never expected to be in that position. It was very tough. He’s not really able to be with our kids, to play with our kids.” 

Halfway through his final round of chemotherapy in preparation for the upcoming surgery, Adam was too exhausted to speak for this story. As has been the case throughout his journey, Lia was by his bedside to tell the Journal that support shown by the Los Angeles Jewish community and online followers of Adam’s story has been overwhelming. 

“Everyone rallying together has helped me stand up when I fall,” she said. “It’s a support system that fills a hole. It fills that hole with hope and their strength. It has been incredibly replenishing.” 

Friends, relatives and other community members have helped by contributing hot meals to ease the family’s burden. Lia said gestures like that allow her to “come home, spend time with my kids, play games and just enjoy their company” after a long day at the hospital, rather than going to the market and cooking. 

Bikur Cholim, a Jewish medical charity organization, stepped up to supply platelet donors for Adam when his hospital experienced a shortage. Platelets are tiny cells in blood that form clots and stop bleeding, and they’re essential to fighting cancer in many cases. 

Friends and community members who have grown close to the family as a result of Adam’s situation have dropped by the hospital and played guitar and sung Havdalah songs after Shabbat. People from around the world following Adam’s progress online have sent pictures, prayers and videos with words of encouragement. 

“It’s been really special and takes away from feelings of isolation and aloneness,” Lia said, calling those who’ve helped out in any way her family’s “vigilantes” and “knights in shining armor.” 

With the successful push for finding Adam a match in her rearview mirror, Lia said she hopes to continue raising awareness for primary myelofibrosis and helping expand the bone marrow registry network. For her, the possibility of saving more lives is too critical to ignore. The best part is that she knows the “Hope4Adam” campaign has touched others around her in the same capacity. 

“I would love to continue on,” she said. “I also have family members and friends who have been involved who have said things to me like they’d consider giving up their day jobs to continue on with the Gift of Life Marrow Registry. It has been such an inspiring experience.” 

Still, after the transplant, Adam faces a long road of recovery. His immune system will be weak, and he’ll have to remain largely separated from his kids for the foreseeable future since contracting something as innocuous as the common cold could be disastrous. 

“There’s a long way to go for sure,” Lia said. “And the separation will continue to be hard for our family.” 

When asked what she thinks Adam is looking forward to doing once he’s fully recovered, Lia didn’t hesitate. The answer didn’t involve hitting the hardwood, half-pipe or slopes, but rather something closer to home. 

“Playing with our kids. Just being with our kids,” she said. 

For information on becoming a potential donor — a simple, nonsurgical procedure — to help people like Adam Krief, visit giftoflife.org.