Jamie Kelley and his wife, Shawn, became parents of twin sons, Jax and Croix, last June. Jamie was diagnosed with leukemia in 2001 and later received a bone marrow transplant. He has been in remission for more than seven years.

Jamie Kelly near his Franklin County home.

Jamie Kelley is a husband, a father, a best friend, a hard worker, an outdoorsman, an adventurer and a survivor. He recently celebrated his seventh year in remission from leukemia — after being told in 2001 that he had just a 15 percent chance to live.

With support from his wife, Shawn, his best friends, family and a variety of people from the community, both near and far, Jamie made it through smiling.

He recently sat on his sofa at his rural Franklin County home, and told stories of playing disc golf with catheters tied around his arm, and toughing it out when things were rough.

And about 11 months ago — on June 26, 2009 — Jamie and Shawn celebrated the births of their sons, Jax and Croix. The couple had planned ahead in hopes of having a family, because they were told Jamie’s yearlong chemotherapy treatments likely would leave him sterile.

The boys’ birth was a turning point for Jamie.

“I thought I’d never want to go through that kind of stuff (treatment) again, if I ever had cancer again,” he said. “But now that I have these guys, I’d do whatever I have to.”

After the chemotherapy ended, Jamie and Shawn were sent to Seattle to explore other treatment options, and possibly to find a bone marrow donor match. The rest seems like a storybook ending.

“When we got there we went up to Glacier Park and we were on the mountain and I couldn’t believe it but my phone rang,” Jamie said, “and they said, ‘Listen, we found a really great match and we need you to get here now.'”

A year after his transplant, Jamie met his donor. They immediately hit it off.

“She doesn’t like it when I introduce her as my bone marrow donor,” Jamie said, “She likes it when I just say, ‘This is Margie, my Canadian friend.’ But I do it anyway.”

The bond between the two families grows stronger with each year and every visit to Canada or to Kansas.

“I’m glad Margie liked me; I’m glad that when she met me she didn’t ask for her bone marrow back,” Jamie said. “I think that’s good. I was kind of worried.”