AlloSource and the Donate Life Float Committee are sad to announce that Nikki has unexpectedly passed away from an incident unrelated to her cancer treatment and allograft surgeries. We have elected to keep her story available so that others can continue to be inspired by this exceptional and courageous woman. Please take a moment to reflect on her extraordinary life as you read about her experience with donation.

Nikki's Story

Nikki Cortez, 21, had been very athletic and physically active until she was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) in February 2001. She began a two-year program of intense chemotherapy, which made the 15-year-old extremely ill most of the time. Less than a year into her chemo, she began having bone problems diagnosed as avascular necrosis (AVN) resulting from high corticosteroid use. As she continued with the steroid therapy, the AVN took a greater and greater toll on her body.

As the AVN progressed, it moved from Nikki’s right shoulder to her knees, left shoulder, right ankle, and finally both elbows. She had multiple smaller scale surgeries and growth hormone treatments to try to reverse the AVN, but her body did not respond. “The more my body fell apart, the more discouraged I became. I had gone from being a very active person with hopes of overcoming all of this and doing normal activities again, to being extremely limited in my daily activities. This was very hard to adjust to at the age of 15.”

After Nikki completed her chemo, she began having bone graft replacements on the bones that did not respond to minor surgeries -- first the left knee in 2003, then the right elbow a year later, which was the first elbow transplant in the United States. She is currently waiting for a shoulder transplant, and possibly other transplants in the future.

Nikki has been cancer-free for almost five years. “Although my life has significantly changed since my cancer diagnosis, I am very happy with the outcome,” said Nikki. “I have been given a second chance at life, even if this means being more limited in my activities and having surgeries here and there. It is still much better than the alternative. My orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Ross Wilkins, has done an excellent job with my bones and has taken the best of care of me. My biggest gift out of all of this was life and meeting a group of wonderful people.”