So here is the big news: After going through extensive testing at the one year anniversary of her stem cell transplant, my cousin Tami's remission continues. (YAY!) The testing she underwent showed she has no Myelodysplastic cells in her bone marrow. During the recheck she also had to get 7 vaccinations. This is because receiving a stem cell transplant is like having the immunity of a baby so the vaccinations help to strengthen her new immune system and protect her.
Now not only is she driving again, Tami was given the all clear to go back to work part time. Her life interrupted is beginning to return to normal.
Tami does continue to suffer from a mild case of Graft vs Host disease. Unfortunately she may be dealing with GVHD for months or years to come. GVHD is when the donor cells don't realize they are in a new body so they are attacking Tami's tissues as if they are foreign bodies invading the donor cells original body. For now her doctors have placed her back on a mild steroid that is keeping the GVHD under control.
She has requested to meet her stem cell donor. The way this works is that her information is now provided to the donor and he can make the decision whether to contact her or not. They said sometimes it can take months for the person to contact so we'll see what happens. If her donor is reading this, and would like to meet Tami but is afraid he will be publicly outed here on the blog: Please let me me assure you we will honor whatever level of privacy you request. If you want to be featured in the blog I would be happy to give you this space to tell your story. If you would prefer to remain anonymous to the world we will make no mention of any details of who you are, where you live or what you do :)
And this is just funny: Last year while spending 4 months in Seattle receiving her transplant and recovering from the procedure, she and her Auntie (who was her caregiver) would go out shopping whenever Tami felt up to it. Looks like they were a good shopping team.
But can you believe they weren't shopping together when they bought theses matching jackets last month? LOL Tami and her Auntie were 275 miles apart when by chance, they both chose the same floral print jacket. LOL
To Read Tami's Story from the Beginning
Just CLICK HERE. Her blog begins on March 12, 2009 with a post titled "Tami's Myelodysplasia Diagnosis." Then at the bottom of each post, click on the words "Newer Post" located just below the comments section on each page.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
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