Where do I begin?
Thank you for saving my life!
I am about to celebrate the one-year anniversary or the first
“re-birthday” of my stem cell transplant.
It wouldn’t have happened without you. While I’m sure there could have been other people who could have
been adequate matches, you were a perfect
match and that has made this process much easier and more effective than it
could have been otherwise.
When we were told that I had leukemia, I had been remarried to my high school sweetheart for just over a year
when I was diagnosed. It was quite
a blow. We had dreams of growing
old together, and now we were faced with the probability of only having a mere three
years. Because I had the type of
CLL that had all the negative prognostic markers (17p deletion, unmutated, CD38,
ZAP 70 positive, and ALC [Absolute Lymphocyte Count] doubling time of less than
a year), I did not have time to sit around and wait for them to invent a new
drug that might cure me. So we
took the aggressive route and went directly for the stem cell transplant. So far, it has worked. I am in remission. :)
I don’t know if you are a follower of Christ or not, but it
was the power of prayer and God’s grace, love, and mercy that saw me through
this very long year and a half.
His Word has brought comfort and peace and carried me through some very
dark days. There were many people
praying for you as well, before you ever said yes…and of course
afterwards.
My husband, Paul, was…is my amazing caregiver. It is a task that I will probably never
quite fully comprehend, until the day that I might be given that job. He selflessly took care of me and
everything else is our life while holding down his job and taking care of our
home. We stayed with my mother for
the first 100 days after I got out of the hospital because it was closer to the
hospital, where I had to go back to everyday, then three times per week. The two of them sacrificed themselves
in so many ways in taking care of me. Family and friends gave of their time to drive me to MD Anderson day after day. But again, none of that would have happened if you hadn’t been willing
to give.
I have two grown children, four step children, and three
beautiful grandchildren (Dana, 5; Caleb, 3; Ethan, 2). I am their Tadee, and they are my
delight.
I didn’t think my relationship with my husband could have gotten
any better, but it has only gotten stronger throughout this past almost two
years. Last year, we spent my
birthday and our anniversary in the hospital. This year, we are looking forward to taking a short trip together, actually in just a few weeks, to celebrate our life together…a life that
we will hopefully now be able to enjoy for many more years to come. Thanks to you, to our medical team, the
support of family and friends, and to our amazing God, I've been given the gift of life and time.
We would love to meet you some day and thank you in
person. Taking you to dinner seems
the very least we could do!
So, M-47, I owe my life to you. Paul and I owe our future to you. My children and grandchildren owe a lifetime of memories to come to
you. My mother didn’t have to have
her heart broken by losing a child because you gave. Thank you for giving life-giving cells. It touched more lives than you’ll ever
know.
Tamara
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