In October of 2014, the Missouri State University community rallied around softball player Allie Alvstad who had recently been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, a form of blood cancer. One of the many events on campus to support Allie's Journey was a bone marrow donor registration drive that involved filling out some paper work and a simple cheek swab.

"At the time, I thought 'why not?'" said A'dja Jones, an academic counselor in the Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Academic Achievement Center, located in Forsythe Athletics Center. "I had no idea how that one decision would be life changing."

Alvstad eventually got her bone marrow transplant that December after two rounds of intense chemotherapy. Her recovery reached a point of success on March 21, 2015 that allowed her to move back to her hometown of Tulsa following a more than three-month stay at the Baylor Medical Center in Dallas. She has since returned to classes at Missouri State and rejoined her teammates on the Bears softball team for the upcoming season.

But for Jones, that's where her story begins. A separate journey, but one rooted in the same generous spirit that gave one of her favorite student-athletes a second chance at life.

In November, Jones got an email from Delete Blood Cancer , the organization that coordinates blood cancer treatment programs across the country. The email indicated she was a match for a patient in need. A few days later, she received a phone call from the organization. Jones recalls the call caught her off guard. A little boy with leukemia needed a marrow transplant, and she was a match.

"It took me some time to process it," Jones said. "I have a little sister who just turned 10, and I thought what if she needed something like this? I also have a cousin who was diagnosed with lymphoma at 9-years-old who had gone through a bone marrow transplant. So, it was easier to think of it through their eyes."

After agreeing to enter the donor program, Jones had to undergo a physical at the same hospital the transplant would take place. She was flown to Washington, D.C. to fill out the extensive paper work, be briefed on the procedure options and undergo the physical.

Doctors gave her two options -- a 6-8 hour peripheral stem cell harvesting procedure, or a minor surgery to remove bone marrow directly from her pelvis. She chose the latter and was given a date to return to Washington on Jan. 22 for the actual surgery and transplant three days later.

But the final chapter in this incredible journey almost didn't happen. The day Jones and her mother Judy departed from Springfield to Washington was a bad travel day. Winter weather caused flight delays, cancellations and overbookings nearly everywhere east of the Mississippi River. This precisely-timed transplant was in jeopardy.

"Everything was going really well," Jones explained. "We left Springfield on time. My mom was with me, and the last leg of our flight to D.C. almost didn't get out. The (hospital) kept calling me and telling me - 'you have to get here. The patient is ready.'"

As fate would have it, Jones and her mother got on the last flight that would get into Washington that fateful day. They arrived safely, and the procedure on Jan. 25 was successful. Back in Springfield two days later, she began to recover and process what just happened.

"I had some initial pain the first day. And then the second day, I was really sore and tired, and it was hard to walk," the Doniphan, Mo., native said. "But my pain was nothing compared to the suffering that little boy had been through. And I would absolutely do it all again."

Jones said after a year, the boy's family will have the option to make contact with her. That's how the donor-recipient relationship works. But she was told he lives outside the U.S., meaning she will likely never meet him in person.

"You never know, but it makes me sad that we probably will never get that chance to meet," she said. "The one thing I can take away from this experience is I hope I can now become an advocate for more people to become donors. Even if I can inspire one person to do it, that's awesome."

Back at her desk at Missouri State a week after "A'dja's Journey" started, the proud MSU alumna (Class of 2011 and 2014) kept busy catching up on email, talking to the student-athletes she advises, and telling her story to everyone who stopped by. But there is no "back to normal" for a person who has just undergone a life-changing experience. A new perspective changes you, she said.

"You can save a person's life with a simple process," she explained. "That's humbling and definitely changes how you look at everyday things."