Help me take a stand against blood cancer
In December 2001 my brother and his
wife came into the lounge room and said “we need to talk”. Ross then handed me
a pamphlet on Leukaemia, and said he had it. As you can imagine I was a little
stunned. I read the pamphlet and then did some more research to find out just
how bad it was.
A few weeks later Ross asked me to have a blood test to find out if I had
compatible bone marrow. I went to the pathology lab the next day and gave a
blood sample. They contacted me a few weeks later and asked me to give another
sample for some more tests. It must have been a good match, because they told
the rest of my family not to bother getting tested.
Ross and Lisa talked about it for a while and they tried changing diet and a
few other things to see how well Ross adapted to it. He was also put on a
series of tablets to try and minimise the influence this disease had on him.
They talked about waiting for a few years to decide whether to go ahead with a
bone marrow transplant. I don’t know what changed, but a month later Ross said
he was going to try the transplant.
I was then asked whether I would be willing to give a bone marrow transplant. I
thought about it for oh, ten seconds or so. It was my brother. How could I say
no? My family asked me to consider carefully due to the risks, and the doctors
went into great detail about possible, (but not likely), complications. It all
fell back on the same thing to me. He is my brother. I love him. The answer was
obvious to me.
About 2 months later I was asked to go into the hospital and give blood for a
series of new tests. They took about 20 samples, (which apparently was nothing
compared to what they did to Ross). I was then informed just how risky this
operation was to Ross. Once they start the chemotherapy on Ross, and start
killing off his bone marrow, there was no turning back for him. He would have
about a week to live if I didn’t, (or couldn’t), give bone marrow.
So for the week of July 2002 I carried a living will as well as a normal one
instructing anyone that found me to contact the doctor at the hospital
immediately and giving permission to extract bone marrow whatever the complications.
That was a very nervous month for me.
It was also quite painful for the last 10 days. I gave a blood donation for auto-transfusion
after the bone marrow transplant. I was also given a kit to self-administer
hormone injections, to make me grow far more bone marrow than my body needed.
This then left me with free floating bone marrow to fill the space left during
the transplant procedure. The injections I think were designed by a masochist.
Lol. They were very painful to receive. It was almost a form of mental torture
by the end of the first week. To add to the discomfort, I had a feeling very
similar to growing pains you get as a child, from about the second day through
to just after the operation.
So, 8th July came and I booked myself into hospital. Ross had been given a 7
day course of chemotherapy which killed off his bone marrow. They put me under
and extracted a total of 1.5 litres of bone marrow from either side of my
pelvis, (apparently I don’t have to worry about bone density, according to the
doctors my bones are bloody tough). This was given to Ross in a similar manner
to a blood transfusion. I was awake and walking, (staggering), quickly enough
to go up and see the bag half drained.
I don’t want to minimise this. This was an incredibly painful procedure for me
to go through, but only for two weeks. Ross is now considered to be free of
Leukaemia, (he no longer has the gene that is a sign for it). Because of this,
I have signed up for the Organ Donor Registry. If I am a match to anyone else
with a requirement for bone marrow, I would do this again. I don’t have much
money. I don’t have a lot to give. But if I can save someone else’s life by
enduring two weeks of pain I would do it in a heartbeat.
Please donate to help these people help those who truly are in need. Also,
please consider joining the Organ Donor Registry. It could save a life.
Literally!
Before
After
Check out my before and after!
Your Impact
Help me earn the Helping Hand badge. That's enough to help a family attend a support program specific to their blood cancer.
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Wrap Around Care
Raised $50,000
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Research Outcomes
Raised $25,000
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Clinical Trial
Raised $10,000
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Financial Support
Raised $7500
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Discovery
Raised $4800
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Transportation
Raised $2500
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Personalised Treatment
Raised $1000
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Place to Stay
Raised $560
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Helping Hand
Raised $250
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Lab Equipment
Raised $53
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Off the Mark
Raised $1
I’m $112 away from my next impact milestone. Please help me reach it.
Donate nowMy Achievements
Help me earn the Discover badge. That’s enough to fund 3 months of laboratory costs for a research project to discover better treatments for blood cancer.
I’m $4040 away from my next impact milestone. Please help me reach it.
Donate now
Signed Up!
$1
$250
$560
$4,800
$10,000
Your support is changing lives with the Leukaemia Foundation
50 years of supporting Australians with blood cancer
The World's Greatest Shave is the flagship fundraising initiative of the Leukaemia Foundation, Australia’s only dedicated blood cancer charity. This iconic campaign helps us continue to provide wraparound blood cancer care for Australians with blood cancer.
And with blood cancer rates continuing to rise, our work is far from over. Fuelled by our community of patients, carers, healthcare professionals, researchers, specialists, and supporters like you, we’re committed to continuing our work in providing life-changing support services, funding groundbreaking research projects, and advocating on behalf of patients and families.
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