When Dr. Nick Mondek, a Los Angeles anesthesiologist and father of two, learned his cancer had returned this spring, he didn’t know the hero who would save him was already living under his roof.
His 10-year-old son Stephen stepped up in the bravest way possible, by donating his stem cells.
“Stephen is proof that real-life heroes come in all shapes, sizes and even ages,” Mondek told ABC News. “They may be right in front of us, and we don’t even know it, and in one act of bravery and courage, they can completely alter your life.”
This wasn’t Mondek’s first battle. After being diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, he previously underwent chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant in 2022, thanks to his older brother Dave. But when the cancer returned, things looked grim.
“It was a dismal prognosis, and I needed a donor immediately, and there was no one available,” Mondek said. Extended family and the National Bone Marrow Registry didn’t provide a match.
That’s when Mondek remembered a friend whose son became his lifesaving donor. He nervously asked his physician if a 9-year-old, just 70 pounds at the time, could be an option.
“The biggest factor that I had in my brain was [that] I don’t want him to feel forced. I don’t want him to feel obligated,” Mondek recalled. “So I didn’t even tell him that we were down to him as our last option. I told him we were still looking at candidates and [said], ‘Would you consider potentially getting tested to see if maybe you could be a donor?’ And he was all for it.”
Stephen’s response melted his dad’s heart: “Without batting an eye, he said, ‘When do we go?’”
Doctors at Cedars-Sinai successfully extracted stem cells from Stephen, and on July 30, Mondek received his second transplant.
The proud dad couldn’t stop singing his son’s praises. “He didn’t have to put on a cape or leap buildings in a single bound. Instead, he put on a hospital gown and gave me hope,” Mondek said. “I’m not just honored to call this boy my son, I am just as honored to call him my hero.”
Stephen, described by his dad as “very shy” and “quiet,” also had support from his friends. “It feels good to do that, because all my friends are proud of me,” he said.
And he bounced back quickly, “Within three or four days, he was already back at baseball practice,” Mondek shared with a smile.
Now, both father and son are out of the hospital, and things are looking up. “They did a blood test last week for the first time to screen my blood for any of the DNA of my leukemia cells, and they couldn’t find any,” Mondek said. “So, as of right now, I’m still in remission, and there’s no sign of cancer.”
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