Other than having had a cold that wouldn't go away for the previous month or so, Cornman considered himself in excellent health. It all came as a shock. Now he speaks of it passively, but it had to be an ordeal. Cornman, however, became a pioneer. His Bloomington physician sent him to the IU Medical Center to be examined in anticipation of future treatment.
Statistics show that only one in four siblings are a match for bone marrow transplantation.
Cornman has two brothers and two sisters and, the statistics held true, a sister was a match. He was hospitalized in isolation for 31 days to prevent infection and to monitor potential rejection following the transplant. Cornman has a rather unique view of a hospital. He has been an inpatient 17 times and has had 122 outpatient visits. IU Hospital is kind of a sanctuary.