Ashley Farkas, the executive director of public relations at MGM Resorts International, tested positive for COVID-19 in March, just as the city was shutting down. “I quarantined for 14 days and let the virus run its course,” she says. “Little did I know this would only be the start of what was to come.”
In late August, Farkas felt fatigued and developed a 103 fever that would not break. She was tested for COVID again, but it came back negative. Shortly after Labor Day, she fainted and was taken to the emergency room. “I was told I had acute myeloid leukemia—a blood and bone marrow cancer,” Farkas says. “There was no time to think or comprehend anything—the lab results came back at a ‘critical risk’ level, and doctors immediately rushed me to the ICU floor.”
Farkas, who’s also a yoga instructor, spent a total of 36 days in isolation at Sunrise Hospital while she received treatment. Her family and friends fundraised more than $18,000 in her name for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, running blood drives, sending Farkas cards and messages and organizing a car parade when she got home.
Farkas still has a long journey ahead, including chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant, but she’s keeping a positive mindset. And this Thanksgiving, she says she’s grateful for so much.
“I’m most thankful for the kind and generous hearts of humanity,” she says. “Even in the most trying of circumstances in 2020, people have come together to support one another. I’ve seen large and small organizations put together teams to pack and deliver food to those in need; watched colleagues recommend job opportunities to those seeking new employment; saw Facebook groups formed that raised funds to donate PPE gear to hospitals; witnessed friends reaching out to one another to ask how they can help; learned about a neighbor helping another neighbor take care of her elderly father; and the list goes on.
“And personally, I’m grateful to have so many people in my life—friends, colleagues, family, friends of friends and even complete strangers—implement or participate in initiatives that support me and others fighting cancer. To sit from my hospital bed and watch as these groups came together to unite for a common purpose has filled me with hope and love, along with reminding me that what they were doing is what life is all about: providing a gift to another that can never be repaid.”
A blood drive in Farkas’ name will take place December in Nashville. To donate locally, visit vitalant.org.
