Bay Area dancing duo credits blood donors for saving their lives

HAYWARD – At 73, Wanda Williams still can’t believe the joy she gets from something as simple as a walk in the rain.

“It’s just too easy to take for granted those things that you never have to worry about,” she said.

Fifteen years ago, Williams, a retiree from Hayward, was rushed to the hospital after doctors discovered a blood clot on her lung, complication from a debilitating disease called sickle cell.

“I could barely walk from our bedroom to the kitchen and I thought, ‘Oh God, will I ever be able to do this simple thing again?'” she told KPIX.

But then, she was given blood transfusions … and her health began to turn around.

“I was just so energized,” she recalled. “I felt like I could paint the house.”

During all that time, her husband Gene took care of her, made blood donations whenever he could and, when things got dark, he would brighten up her day with a little dancing around the living room.

“It is our special little recipe for 35 years of marriage and relationship,” he said. “Nobody participates in it. Just us.”

After two years of monthly transfusions, Williams was able to get back on her feet, and her walks.

Just when they thought they had seen the worst of it, in a cruel twist of fate, it’s her husband who’s now in need of transfusions as he battles a second bout of cancer.

This time, it’s Wanda who is taking care of him. The irony, he says, isn’t lost on him.

“Definitely surreal, definitely switching roles,” Gene said.

Gene is now going through radiation and chemotherapy.

Even though life has thrown them another major curveball, they say they’re forever thankful to all those men and women who rolled up their sleeves and allow them to fight another day.

While there are still many challenges ahead, they’re optimistic, knowing they can get through life step by step, with a little help from blood donors and the healing power of dance.

CBS News Bay Area is backing community blood drives taking place on Wednesday, January 18 and Thursday, January 19

Wednesday, January 18
San Rafael – Marin Bible Church Gym, 10 Sequoia Road, 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Emeryville – Bay Street Shopping Center (empty available storefront) 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM
San Francisco – new Vitalant donation center at 555 Buckingham near Stonestown Galleria

Thursday, January 19
Redwood City – Sequoia YMCA, 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Dublin, Hacienda Crossings Shopping Center, 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM
San Francisco – new Vitalant donation center at 555 Buckingham near Stonestown Galleria

More information can be found by visiting www.vitalant.org.