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The Cleveland Cavaliers inspired and captivated an entire city as they fought tirelessly for the
NBA Championship. Although they fell short in game six of the NBA finals, the Cavs managed to
cause a ripple effect of support reaching further than anyone would have dr.eamed. One example
of this is the
Macfadyen family.
Natasha Macfadyen,
an Australia native,
left home at the age

of eighteen to travel
the world. She
attended college in
London before finally
settling down with her
husband and two
young girls in the
Cayman lslands.
After going to her
doctor for a routine
appointment,
Natasha was
shocked to leam that
she was not simply
an exhausted mother of two; she was diagnosed with aplastic anemia, a rare blood disease that
affects bone manow. Natasha and her husband researched her treatment options, and decided
to come to Cleveland Clinic to see renowned hematologist Jaroslaw Maciejewski, MD, PhD.

Nett*ir dGrcribcct hrr dircrue ln hymen's terrru reyln$, "lt is basically a bone marrow failure
syndrome.'And while the prognosis for her disease rcmains unsure, the disease would have
most certainly killed her had she been diagnosed forty years ago. Today she is being treated with
supportive blood transfusions at Cleveland Clinic, post receiving immunosuppressive therapy.
Natasha believes that the care she is receiving from Dr. Maciejewski and his team, alongside the
support of her family, is saving her life. lt is with their support that she has managed to stay
positive.

That positivity is.essential in her treatment and healing:procSS, and this spring the city of
Clardend contsihttt! tc hor rrd her ftrnily'* Forittvc #tit$da+. Natasha described how
Cleveland has become her second home, and t maier p*d of hcr fami|y, s Efe. She r'eitereted this
fact saying, "AHtough I wirh thc rplertic rncmir had stayed in remission, l 6.m't roally eomplain
about being in Cleveland right now. Could there be a better time to be here than when the
Cavaliers erc fighting for thc chrmpionrhip? Evcryor:re hcre is in sueh hish spi'rits it's hard for it
nod to bc contagiou!." Her family has one player in particular they were rooting for: fellow Aussie
Matthew Dellavedova. She and her family could not be more proud of the player Clevelanders
havc eomc to lovc and know lt "Ddly". lt i* re tpcclelfer thern to h*ve m,Australia,n eonneetion
in their second home.
Natasha says that by battling her disease, she is simply playing a game just like the Cavaliers.
However, it is one that she plans on playing the rest of her life, and one she plans to win.