My New Birthday

Today is my unofficial new birthday. October 23, 2008, I received an infusion of stem cells at Brigham and Women’s hospital. The nurses say this is a rebirth because it changes my blood type and rebuilds my blood counts and immune system from ground zero. After the conditioning process, (already described in a prior post), if the donor stem cells are accepted by my body, they should destroy any remaining cancer cells and provide me with 30-40 years of life without relapse. So far so good with one year down.

Needless to say, this is an emotional day for me. Now a little background again. I still don’t quite understand the process used to find a stem cell match. It isn’t as simple as matching a blood type. There are specific items the doctors need to see within the blood to find the perfect match or at least one close enough. You would think siblings and relatives might be the best donors but only 25% of all siblings end up being a patient’s donor. My memory is a bit foggy but it was my understanding I only had a half-dozen potential matches in the bank of registered blood donors.

Now, I’m a gambler. I’ve never won big but I do love Vegas, Foxwoods, Mohegan, the lottery, scratch tickets…so I decided to roll the dice. And wouldn’t you know…I hit pay dirt! My only sibling, Beau, was tested and found to be a perfect match.

He traveled back and forth from St. Louis to Boston for testing, physicals, counseling, the actual donation, and he also went through a series of shots to increase and mobilize the stem cell levels in his body. The donation process is interesting. The machine resembles a dialysis machine. Beau had one IV in each arm. One IV taking his blood out, which was then cycled through the machine to separate the stem cells for me, then returning the platelets and red blood cells to him through the other IV. This is an eight hour process, where his entire blood supply is cycled 3-4 times. No fun to say the least.

As if this wasn’t enough, the staff found Beau to be a bad mobilizer. Basically even with the shots, his body didn’t produce a high enough level of stem cells needed for my transplant. So not only did he donate cells on the 23rd, but also on the 24th and was required to have a full bone marrow harvest on October 28th. This is a full surgical procedure, where three holes are made in the hip bone (while sedated) and bone marrow is extracted for later infusion.

There are no words to truly describe the feelings towards Beau. He is my big brother, my confidant, and my best friend. And after this procedure, he became my savoir. How does one find words for someone who attempts to save your life? Impossible. His blood now runs through my veins (literally) and I can only hope it will make me a better person and I’m not speaking solely of my health.

Today, I celebrate my new birthday and in doing so, I want to send all my love and thanks to Beau Richmond. I wouldn’t be here today if you were not part of my life.

~Cheers