by Dennis Dalman
editor@thenewsleaders.com
Eight years ago, a 15-year-old Greta Perske, weak and in pain, was struggling to regain her strength after a bone-marrow transplant, but earlier this week she was a happy, radiant guest, along with her marrow donor, on The Ellen Degeneres Show.
Perske married Tony Hokanson on Oct. 10 at Celebration Lutheran Church in Sartell. The guest of honor at her wedding was Danny Daniels, the man in Arkansas who donated bone marrow to the young girl he had never seen or met during the time of the medical crisis. He didn’t meet her until two years later and then again for a very special occasion – Greta’s wedding. At the reception, Greta and Danny danced, a very moving moment that brought rounds of warm applause, a standing ovation and more than a few tears.
TV talk-show host Ellen Degeneres heard about Greta, Danny and that wedding-dance day via a feature story by Dave DeLand in the St. Cloud Times and invited them to be on her show, which aired Dec. 8 after taping it the day before.
Greta is the daughter of Jan and Joe Perske, both teachers and Joe the former Sartell mayor. Last week, Joe Perske told the Sartell-St. Stephen Newsleader they knew that Greta and Danny were being considered for an appearance on The Ellen Degeneres Show but that nothing was certain. Well, in fact, Greta had known it was a definite “go,” but she had been sworn to secrecy for nearly a month until just before she and husband Tony flew to Los Angeles last week for the taping.
When Degeneres greeted the couple on her show, there was applause and smiles all around as the three of them sat down in the TV studio for a bright, brief discussion.
Greta explained how, as a young soccer player, she began to develop terrible fatigue and sudden losses of energy, so bad she couldn’t keep up with her teammates. At first, she and others assumed it was caused by strep throat or a form of asthma. Soon, however, doctors discovered she was suffering from a form of leukemia. It was utterly devastating news to all concerned. Greta underwent a regimen of oral chemotherapy, but soon doctors determined she would need a bone-marrow transplant if she were to survive.
Then Danny shared his story with Degeneres. About 10 years ago, living in Arkansas, he signed up as a bone-marrow transplant donor because a fellow resident of Arkansas had cancer that would require a transplant. Sadly, the man died, but Danny’s name remained on the national registry as a potential donor. He forgot all about it until one day, someone called and asked if he would be willing to donate marrow because a match had been found through the registry for a 15-year-old girl.
He readily agreed.
“A 15-year-old girl? How could you not?” he said to Degeneres.
She asked him if it was a painful procedure.
He said, “No, not really.” They took the marrow from his hip bones, then it was flown to the Twin Cities where Greta was awaiting the transplant. Danny recovered by being placed on light duty for six weeks.
Two years after the transplant, Greta and her family finally got to meet the donor, the man from Arkansas who helped save Greta’s life. It was, of course, an emotional meeting.
A few years later, Greta and fiancé Tony sent Danny and Angie Daniels an invitation to their wedding. The Daniels drove up for the big day. The wedding and reception evoked lots of tears – tears of joy. The deejay at the reception suggested Greta and Danny dance together. And so they did – to the Alabama song, Angels Among Us.
There weren’t many dry eyes around the dance floor.
As Greta and Danny told their stories, Greta’s husband Tony was watching and listening from the audience, which burst into applause when Degeneres told Danny and Greta they would be receiving all of the gifts she’d be giving away during the Dec. 8 broadcast.
Tony and Greta Hokanson live in Minnetonka where Tony works for his dad’s lock company and Greta is a nurse at United Hospital in Minneapolis.
Danny, 51, works for an Arkansas company that has contracts with the government for unmanned vehicles.
Both intend to stay in touch, which isn’t hard to fathom, considering both are miraculously connected through the gift of life.
Both are strong advocates for the Be The Match organization, which made the marrow match between the two of them possible. Be The Match is the largest and most diverse marrow registry in the world, operated by the National Marrow Donor Program. In the past 25 years, thanks to donors and matches made through it, it has saved countless thousands of lives, mainly for people suffering from forms of leukemia and lymphoma. To learn more about the organization, to donate money or to learn how to become a potential donor, visit its website at BeTheMatch.org.
You can view their portion of the Dec. 8 episode online at ellentube.com/videos/0-1w6jtw0i/.
Greta Perske, center, appeared on The Ellen Degeneres Show on Dec. 8 with the man who donated bone marrow to save her life.
Danny Daniels of Arkansas is the man who donated bone marrow so Greta Perske could survive an onslaught of leukemia eight years ago. The Sartell girl grew into a confident young woman who married her sweetheart Tony Hokanson Oct. 10, with Daniels as guest of honor.
Tony and Greta Hokanson.
Tony and Greta Hokanson on their wedding day, Oct. 10, 2015.
