Revolver-Time
Single-Sixer
Several months ago I told you all that my wife was diagnosed with AML. In January she underwent chemo, more chemo in February and then waited to find a stem cell donor. Only 2 matches were found in a 26 million person database. The first donor a male based in this country, flaked out at he last minute so the other donor, a female in Germany was contacted. She donated her cells and my wife had them transplanted into her on June 15th.
After transplant my wife and I had to go to the clinic each day for 6 to 8 hours while they checked her blood and adjusted her chemistry and gave her fluids. This regiment was kept up until Wednesday October 4th. On the 5th she was supposed to meet her team of doctors to discuss the completion of this process and scheduling of us to return home. Then disaster struck.
On Wednesday she started with diarrhea, vomiting, and a very swollen abdomen. As of this writing she is at the ICU on life support. By Thursday or perhaps sooner, I will need to make the decision to let her go.
I spent the day doing research on GVHD. That is Graft Vs Host Disease. It has shut down her kidneys, liver, and put her in an unresponsive state. I have found numbers as high as 70% of all stem cell transplant patients get GVHD within the first year after transplant. Of that number 50% will not survive. I have a terrible, irreversible, feeling of guilt that I should have researched all of this before so that my wife could have made a more informed decision. Now my wife, mother to our daughter, and grandmother to our 3 grandchildren is hours away from death. I am struggling to take my next breath. What good is life without her to share it with?
If any of you are ever faced with this horrible disease, I recommend you get into remission and enjoy each moment you have left. Don't fall for the promise of the cure. It is all a big lie bases on minimal success. You will develop GVHD. Maybe not now, maybe not next month, maybe not next year. But you will get it.
After transplant my wife and I had to go to the clinic each day for 6 to 8 hours while they checked her blood and adjusted her chemistry and gave her fluids. This regiment was kept up until Wednesday October 4th. On the 5th she was supposed to meet her team of doctors to discuss the completion of this process and scheduling of us to return home. Then disaster struck.
On Wednesday she started with diarrhea, vomiting, and a very swollen abdomen. As of this writing she is at the ICU on life support. By Thursday or perhaps sooner, I will need to make the decision to let her go.
I spent the day doing research on GVHD. That is Graft Vs Host Disease. It has shut down her kidneys, liver, and put her in an unresponsive state. I have found numbers as high as 70% of all stem cell transplant patients get GVHD within the first year after transplant. Of that number 50% will not survive. I have a terrible, irreversible, feeling of guilt that I should have researched all of this before so that my wife could have made a more informed decision. Now my wife, mother to our daughter, and grandmother to our 3 grandchildren is hours away from death. I am struggling to take my next breath. What good is life without her to share it with?
If any of you are ever faced with this horrible disease, I recommend you get into remission and enjoy each moment you have left. Don't fall for the promise of the cure. It is all a big lie bases on minimal success. You will develop GVHD. Maybe not now, maybe not next month, maybe not next year. But you will get it.
