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TailsToo · Mar 30, 2007, 07:11 PM

So I found out today that I'm going to get to be a bone marrow donor... for my mother! To make a long story short, she has been battling leukemia for the last year with limited success. She had a bone marrow transplant attempt from an unrelated donor late last year that failed. My brother and I are now pretty much her only options, and based on the HLA typing test, I am a 5 out of 6 match, while he's a 4 of 6 match. Not as good as could be, but I'm excited about the chance to get to help her fight this disease.

Looks like it should take place in the next three weeks or so. Please cross your fingers for her for me!

Aron Peterson · Mar 30, 2007, 07:37 PM

I just shut my eyes tightly and sent your mother my best thoughts.

hickey · Mar 30, 2007, 07:40 PM

Congrats on doing an honorable thing. Karma will work for you.

DeathToWindows · Mar 30, 2007, 09:11 PM

Good luck for you and your mother.

Face Ache · Mar 30, 2007, 09:31 PM

Originally Posted by TailsToo

So I found out today that I'm going to get to be a bone marrow donor... for my mother! To make a long story short, she has been battling leukemia for the last year with limited success. She had a bone marrow transplant attempt from an unrelated donor late last year that failed. My brother and I are now pretty much her only options, and based on the HLA typing test, I am a 5 out of 6 match, while he's a 4 of 6 match. Not as good as could be, but I'm excited about the chance to get to help her fight this disease.

Looks like it should take place in the next three weeks or so. Please cross your fingers for her for me!

Hey, seriously cool!

Get your strength up, eat well and look after yourself for a while now, eh?

brassplayersrock² · Mar 30, 2007, 09:52 PM

good luck and godspeed. Glad to know there are people like you still in the world today.

alex

TailsToo · Mar 31, 2007, 08:42 AM

Thanks for your kind thoughts; they mean a lot to my family and I.

I'll keep you updated.

design219 · Mar 31, 2007, 08:55 AM

That's great. Everyone who reads this should be typed as potential donors. Many people are not as fortunate as your mom and need to depend on stangers to match.

Regular blood donations are great too. It is a great way to be charitable without costing a thing but a little time. I never gave blood until my dad needed my platelets. It wasn't as bad as I feared, and since then, I give as often as possible.

Best of luck to your mom.

TailsToo · Sep 4, 2007, 10:26 PM

I haven't been around to post an update in a while, but I thought I should post an update.

I went through the donation process in May, and my Mom was given the harvested cells on May 9th. For the next two months, she made remarkable progress, and it appeared as though she had the leukemia under control. But this is a horrible disease, and each time it comes back, it only gets stronger. To make matters worse, bone marrow transplant recipients are very sensitive to infections. When you fight the cancer, the infections get worse - and when you try to fight the infections, the cancer gets stronger. Little by little, both seemed to get worse and worse.

And that's where my mother found herself on August 5th. As my dad was leaving her room for the night, he told her "Don't you leave me" as he did every night. She laughed, and said "I'm not going anywhere." The next morning, she fell into a coma. He body was too tired to fight the cancer and the infections any longer. She died on August 9th with all of her loved ones there with her. I held her hand as she passed.

Even though my Mom's transplant wasn't successful, I was thankful that I could give her hope and help her to hang on a little while longer than she would have otherwise. If you're not on the bone marrow registry, I urge you to do so. Perhaps someone else on this board might get the chance save someone's life.

The National Bone Marrow Donor Registry

turtle777 · Sep 4, 2007, 10:34 PM

I'm so sorry for your loss.

My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. I hope that inmidst of the pain, you can find peace and hope.

All the best to you and your family.

-t

quesera · Sep 4, 2007, 10:45 PM

We are sorry for your loss. I've been registered for a few years and was close to being a match for someone. It didn't work out but I'm hopeful that I'll be able to help someone such as your mother someday.

design219 · Sep 4, 2007, 10:57 PM

My sympathy to you and your family. Cancer sucks. I lost my dad to it about 15 years ago. I hope this post leads to others registering for Marrow donation. Well done, and thank you for the update.

- - e r i k - - · Sep 4, 2007, 11:02 PM

Any donation is a good donation - even blood and plasma. I suggest everyone sign up - it really does save lives!

My deepest sympathies

Big Mac · 11:09 PM

My heartfelt condolences, TailsToo. FWIW, my religion teaches that we all have a purpose to fulfill in life and an allotted number of days to do so before our bodies return to the earth and our souls to Heaven. We do not choose to be born nor when to be born; likewise we do not (usually) choose to die, nor when to die nor how death will come. I also believe that you have sanctified your mother's soul by spreading a positive, life-saving message to others (blood donation). I hope you receive comfort and strength in your time of mourning.

KeriVit · Sep 4, 2007, 11:04 PM

Thank you for the update and making us think about what we could possibly do.

May I ask (only because I know it is the #1 fear) was the Bone marrow donation painful?

I think if we could move past this, marrow donation could be just as common as blood.

I'm deeply sorry for your loss. Believe me, I can relate.

wallinbl · Sep 5, 2007, 07:09 AM

Originally Posted by KeriVit

May I ask (only because I know it is the #1 fear) was the Bone marrow donation painful?

Join in Person - at an NMDP bone marrow donor drive near you

Myths & Facts about Bone Marrow Donation

TailsToo · Sep 5, 2007, 11:46 PM

Thanks for everyone's kindness. Mom really believed that the transplant was going to save her. Unfortunately, she had the worst possible type of Leukemia, and it adapted quickly to the chemo and couldn't be stopped. At least we can take some comfort in the fact that she was able to pass peacefully, without knowing that she couldn't have won the battle.

TailsToo · Sep 5, 2007, 11:59 PM

Originally Posted by KeriVit

Thank you for the update and making us think about what we could possibly do.

May I ask (only because I know it is the #1 fear) was the Bone marrow donation painful?

I think if we could move past this, marrow donation could be just as common as blood.

I'm deeply sorry for your loss. Believe me, I can relate.

Thank you.

It really didn't hurt that much - I had the type where you take 5 days of Neupogen shots, which causes your stem cells in your marrow to increase greatly and come out of your bones and into your bloodstream. They then hook you up to a blood filtering machine for about 6 hours a day for 2-4 days (I had 4) and collect the cells they need. Very much like donating plasma.

You feel like you have the flu when the shots are in full effect, and some of your large bones ache (since the cells are being forced through them) but it was relatively mild. The fourth day of the filtering was also tough because my veins were tired, so they had to stick me a few times before they could find a vein that would work.

Here's some more information on what is involved and what to expect:
Bone marrow donation: What to expect when you donate

All in all, though, it's not bad at all, when you consider what the outcome can be. For the first time since my mother was diagnosed with the disease, I felt like there was something i could do to help.

Since the transplant was around mother's day, I even gave her an additional cell that made her smile.

SSharon · Sep 6, 2007, 12:09 AM

I'm sorry for your loss. I know far too many people that have lost the battle with cancer, but thankfully I also know a few that are doing well because of people like you and the good word you are spreading here.