Roger's Gratitude Bell

This post is from my pastor who is being treated for blood cancer and had a stem cell transplant over 140 days ago. My husband wanted to make sure he got one of the very first bells!! I'm hopeful that as more people get a Gratitude Bell for themselves or rings it somewhere, especially if it's rung in a Cancer Treatment Center, I would LOVE to get more and more stories like Rogers so we all can be encouraged by each other.





My name is Roger Hendricks and in 2022 I was diagnosed with MDS (myelodysplastic

syndrome). MDS is a relatively rare form of blood cancer which sometimes develops into

Leukemia. Fortunately, the doctors caught my MDS prior to it developing into Leukemia.

Unfortunately, as result of MDS, my quality of life began to suffer while becoming blood

transfusion dependent receiving 40 units of blood from October of 2022 until July of 2023. The

doctors informed me that without doing anything, I had a maximum life expectancy of three

more years. At 63 years of age and with seven young grandchildren, I chose the only known

successful treatment for MDS which is a bone marrow transplant.

In January of 2023, I began receiving chemotherapy while I waited for a bone marrow stem cell

donor. Although no one in my family was a donor match, a transplant organization (Be The

Match) was able to find a perfect donor for me in Germany. On June 21, 2023, I had a stem cell

transplant receiving an opportunity to live a longer life, continue my work as a Christian

minister, grow older with my wife, and see our grandchildren grow up.

Since my transplant I have had ups and downs in my recovery. I am very hopeful of a full

recovery, but the process is challenging as my new stem cells react to a “foreign” body. As a

transplant patient, I am on numerous strong medications that also have unfortunate side effects.

These challenges have been discouraging at times, since it feels like on every step forward that I

take, I also take a half step backwards.

It was during this challenging recovery that Tricia Wonderly gave me as a gift a box containing

the Gratitude Bells. My wife and I were truly touched by this incredible gift, and we have

installed the Gratitude Bells on the interior wall next to our front door. This allows every guest at

our home to see these bells upon the entrance of our home, it also allows us to see them every

morning as we walk to our kitchen from our bedroom. Receiving these bells and ringing them

regularly has inspired me to give thanks every single day regardless of the challenges of my

recovery! I am thankful for the Gratitude Bells and the constant reminder they serve in my life!


To order your own Gratitude Bell from Bevin Bells please click this link! Of course it’s my dream to get one of these in every Cancer Treatment and Infusion Center especially for others who have stage 4 cancer to have a bell to ring since most of us won’t ever complete or finish treatment but we can all CHOOSE GRATITUDE!

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