My husband a Vietnam Vet was diagnosed with MDS on October 26, 2011. The doctor told us his only chance of survival was a blood transplant.
Fortunate for us one of his five siblings was a perfect match.
In March of 2012 we were sent to San Antonio Audey Murphy VA Hospital for five months. We were given the best treatment and bedside manner a patient and caregiver could ever ask for.
We were discharged on August 10, 2012 with a report of 100% remission. Tom had gone from a type O to Type A craving gummy bears.
We were so excited and the doctors were so amazed by his progress. We gave all credit and glory to God.
A few weeks after returning home Tom became ill. After many trips to the hospital and several weeks stay they discovered his gallbladder was causing the problem. With his counts on the climb but not at a safe level to operate they put him on several rounds of strong antibiotics and blood/platelet transfusions. He declined daily. Eventually passed away October 23, 2012.
Shortly after his passing I was so compelled to order all of his medical documents. Something just did not add up. Early 2013 I received over 4000 pages of medical documentation. The researcher I am started at page one. It was a painful journey and process. As I got closer to the day they put him on hospice I noticed a journal entry by one of the physicians stating that he was given a Type O transfusion instead of the Type A and had contributed to his condition/relapse due to HLA mismatch...
To each of you that has lost someone to this tragic non-presumptive disease my heart goes out to each of you. I did not expect to raise our seven children alone nor enjoy our grandbabies without their pappy. I put one foot forward each day, find value in our journey and pray for a cure for the heartless bureaucracy that each of us face concerning the VA. My husband may have been 60 years young; He played golf four times a week in the Texas heat. Sundays he enjoyed taking our 12 year old to the range to hit balls. He never missed an athletic event for one of our children. His faith was incomparable. Since his passing he was not able to attend our oldest daughters wedding. He missed the birth of our two youngest granddaughters. Most all there is a whole in my heart that God is filling but its not the same. All in all there was mighty value in Tom's passing. 15 people accepted Christ at his funeral. I know he is rejoicing with the Angels.