On July 24, 1991, Mark and Anna Marie Whalen were proud and anxious to welcome their third child into the world. They assumed that their newborn Catherine would be happy and healthy like their two children before her.

The couple never imagined they would spend the next two years in and out of hospitals, worrying and praying for their youngest daughter.

Catherine now makes it her personal objective to have a positive effect on the lives of the people around her. She does so with her very blunt and witty humor, positive attitude, and kind heart.
“I love to make my friends and family laugh,” Whalen said. “I make light of most situations and try not to sweat the small stuff. I feel like I do the same for others by making them laugh and reminding them that life goes on.”

Catherine was born with Aplastic Anemia, which is a blood disorder in which the body’s bone marrow doesn’t produce enough new blood cells.

She also battled severe combined immune deficiency, which lead to reduced and malfunctioning T- and B-lymphocytes, the specialized white blood cells made in the bone marrow to fight infection and diseases. By 1993, Catherine, at two years old, was dependent on a feeding tube. She had undergone extensive tests and treatment, a blood transfusion, the removal of her gallbladder, chemotherapy, an eardrum replacement, and a bone marrow transplant.
Whalen remembers these traumatic years when she struggles academically because she missed out on vital learning skills due to her time in the hospital. She’s also reminded by the scar on her stomach left by her feeding tube which she refers to as her “second bellybutton.”

The chemotherapy caused her to lose her hair and also left her unable to produce estrogen, eliminating any opportunities for her to, one day, be a mother.

The replacement of her ear drum left her deaf in her right ear. Whalen’s bone marrow transplant left her with no scars, no impairments, or disadvantages. Instead, it left her with the incredible gift of life and an immense sense of gratitude to her donor, who chose to remain anonymous.
Today, you can see Catherine every week cheerleading at a CMU football game, on her way to class, or in her North Avenue dorm room. When you do see her, you may wonder, “why is she so small?” Whalen, CMU sophomore, stands proudly at 4’11 and weighs in at 91 pounds. Although her size seem a disadvantage, at times, Whalen reminds herself every day of the generous gift she received 18 years ago that changed her life.
Whalen lives by the quote, “life is too short to be normal.” She likes this quote because she feels she is not commonly classified as “normal” because of her size. She chooses not to be upset by this because she agrees that life is too short. Especially since her life would have been much shorter without her donor’s selflessness and courage. She is inspiring to her peers. Normal people don’t make a bone marrow donation that saves a young girl’s life, normal families don’t ban together to tackle day after day in the hospital and night after night of uncertainty and fear. There is nothing normal about Catherine Whalen’s story. That’s what makes her a true inspiration.

aachambe@mavs.coloradomesa.edu