After more than two years of struggling with leukemia, a member of the Ball State men's golf team has received a bone marrow transplant that will help him combat the cancer.
Justin Cross, who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia at the end of his freshman season, is currently in recovery at the Indiana University Medical Center.
After he was diagnosed, Cross discovered there was no match within his family for a transplant. Ball State Athletics and Ball Memorial Hospital held a blood and bone marrow drive in his honor during the summer.
Later, Cross received an unrelated bone marrow transplant from an anonymous donor. He will be given the opportunity to find out who the donor was in one year's time.
"Given the odds of finding a potential match, we were extremely excited and overly optimistic about the opportunity," Mike Fleck, head coach of the men's golf team, said. "The reaction from us and the rest of the golf team and the BSU athletic community was very excited."
Cross earned a letter in the 2001-02 season after learning of his diagnosis and continued with his golfing career until his condition worsened in the spring of 2003.
"(Justin) looks to return in the spring," Fleck said. "He got the transplant and is moving in a positive direction."
Cross will recuperate in his time away from his academic studies and golfing in a controlled situation in his hometown of Richmond after he is released from the IU Medical Center.
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