I want to start off by expressing my gratitude for my community that has supported me through this completely unexpected life event. I could never have imagined the amount of unwavering love I have received from so many people in my life.
My goal is to post weekly updates so that my famiy and community can follow me through my aplastc anemia treatment. Currently, I am meeting with fertility specialists, transplant specialists, and hematology at Fred Hutch Cancer Center. My blood is constantly under surevaliance; on average I\'m receiving blood tranfusions once a week.
Treatment Update Week 1.8.24:
This week, I began my IVF journey to hopefully preserve my fertility before undergoing chemotherapy. For those of you that know me, having children is a really important life goal for me, so I am undertaking the necessary measures to preserve my ability to carry my own baby.
IVF is a pretty complicated process (and even more so for me). I underwent an ultrasound to assess ovarian function, as well as labs to check for other markers of fertility. The hope is that as long as everything looks okay, I will begin IVF medications (a daily shot) within the next couple of weeks to increase my egg production for egg retrieval.
After my fertility appointment, I went to Fred Hutch for labs to check my blood levels (hemoglobin, hematacrit, platelets, and neutrophils). Unfortunately, my levels were low (platelets down to 11,000), so I received a unit of platelets to decrease my body\'s risk of bleeding. Following my transfusion, my platelets rose to 60,000--yay!
This day, I was also suffering from an intense pressure behind my right eye, so I had a precautionary CT performed to make sure that I didn\'t have a brain bleed--which I didn\'t!
Due to my neutrophils being so low (the cells that fight bacteria/viruses/invaders), I alsp have to take a few prophlactic medications to help me stay healthy.
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The most difficult news that I have had to swallow this week is that my sisters are not a good genetic match for being my donors for stemcell transplantation. HLA genetic testing is extremely specific, and my sisters are only 5/10 matches, so not favorable.
Instead, my transplant team will be moving forward with trying to find an unrelated 10/10 donor on the worldwide bone marrow database: Be the Match (link below). This is a trying process. These donors can be anywhere in the world. The hope is that one match will be able and willing to donate within the next 1-2 months.
If this does not happen, things get complicated, and I will update as I continue on this journey.
Even through the trials of this week, it\'s been so refreshing and encouraging to see the outpouring of love and support for me. I appreciate everyone that has contributed their generous donations and kind words to me. I feel the love!
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PSA: If you are interested in being listed as a donor on the wordwide website Be the Match please check out the link below.
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