Transplant

On the morning of October 5, 2017 I received a bone marrow transplant using stem cells from an unrelated female donor half way across the world in Europe somewhere. That is all I am legally allowed to know at this point. They explained to me that after two years from transplant date, they will give both me and the donor a chance to connect. If either party denies, it ends there. I don’t know who you are, but thank you for saving my life.

There are two ways to get stem cells from a donor. One way is to take a biopsy from the lower back, then farm the cells over a period of a few days before making the transplant to the recipient. My donor declined that option, which they had every right to do and I am in no way upset about. The second way is the stem cells were extracted from the donors blood and separated through a machine and recycled back into their blood stream only taking what is needed. There is a lot more to it I am sure, but that is the basic understanding of it. Since my donor was in Europe, the cells had to be immediately frozen and shipped withing 72 hours before being transplanted into my body. There is a lot of factors that play in the logistics of getting something so important half way around the world in such short time. If there was a severe storm or natural disaster that could delay the cells arriving, I could be sitting there waiting while my body is trying to recover from all the chemotherapy. Luckily we had no such problems. The cells arrived in a big aluminum container that looks similar to a beer keg. It was packed with dry ice to keep the cells frozen on the entire trip. They took each bag of stem cells out one at a time and defrosted them in a table top machine before transplanting into my body. I had the option of getting the cells Blessed by the hospital’s Chaplin, but since my uncle is a Deacon in the Catholic church and an important figure in my life, so I asked him to come and bless the cells for me. The entire process took about 2 hours start to finish. The cells are a pinkish color and when they entire your system. There is a preservative that is mixed with the cells (DMSO) that leaves a distinct taste in your mouth, this is to protect them from freezer burn before entering your system. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity that I was lucky enough to have happen to me. I am thankful for every day I wake up and get to spend on this earth.

Photo Credit: Rustic Moon Photography / Stephanie Crouch

Stephanie Crouch is the Owner and Creative Genius behind Rustic Moon Photography. She is also a very close friend of mine who I approached when I was first told by my doctor that I was going to need a Bone Marrow Transplant. I asked Stephanie if she would follow me along this journey and help document the major aspects of the transplant in hopes that one day someone in need of a transplant can use this story as a positive affirmation that everything is going to get better. I couldn’t have asked for a better person to be in my life and support me and my family in this journey.