Dr. Moshe Chatsky was the oncologist on duty this weekend and Kim and I were lucky enough to be present when he visited Jeff. This wonderfully warm young man was pleased to tell us that he has been called by the NMDP to donate stem cells/bone marrow. He put himself on the registry before he was in college and now he is an oncologist and he is delighted to be needed. His blood is being screened further and he is waiting for the call. He marveled that his stem cells could be needed anywhere in the world. He wondered whether he was needed in Israel or a surrounding country. We similarly wonder where in the world Jeff’s stem cells will be coming from! We compared notes about what we have been told about the process, giving us a happy connection of sorts – donor/recipient. God bless him!
Dr. Chatsky told us something interesting. He said his stem cells were desirable because he was male and, therefore, never pregnant. Hmmm… Why would that be? Could it have to do with CMV? Dr. Kennedy had told us that when Jeff’s blood was screened, they learned that he had never been exposed to CMV (thanks to Judy, we now know that is cytomegalovirus, a type of herpes). So the blood that is ordered for Jeff must be CMV negative because it would be dangerous to expose Jeff to CMV now. This morning I was cleaning off my kitchen counter and found a note I had written after I last donated blood. It said “CMV cytomegalovirus, multi-pregnancies.” I was told by the NJ Blood Council that my blood could only be used for study since I had been pregnant five times and was at a higher risk for CMV. I was told that I could visit one of the NJBC locations to have my blood tested for CMV and then, if clear, they could use my blood for donation. I haven’t done this yet.
We have been hearing stories about people whose tastes – particularly tastes in food - changed after receiving stem cell/bone marrow transplant. Jeff confessed that he was concerned he might lose his interest in woodworking. I don’t know if that would happen but we began to brainstorm skills that would be nice to acquire - wondering, once again, about Jeff’s donor. I told him it might be nice, for the wedding, to get the marrow of a good dancer.
1 comment:
You both have a great sense of humor! I do believe it is important to try and keep it during this time, it's what helped me through it, too! Blessings to you both.
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