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Hello! When listening to your story, my eyes welled up in tears. It was only in April 2010 that we found out that our beautiful mother had MDS and we were all in a state of disbelief. So young (65), so full of life. I think that I cried myself to sleep every night for months, even still sometimes.
In the beginning the information is too much to handle, but gradually as time has gone by I feel as if I'm an expert. Truthfully, I have become a bit of a control freak with the situation. I go to every Dr.'s appt and vidaza session. I ask questions until I am blue in the face and they are always answered. You MUST become your father's advocate.
My mom is about 7 years older than your father, and her first Dr.'s didn't even mentions stem cells or bone marrow transplants. We finally got her to see Dr. Stone at Dana Farber in Boston and he has been amazing. He has the "never give up" approach. "If this doesn't work, than something else will. Technology and science are improving every day," he says.
My mom also has 3 siblings but sadly none of them were a match. However, through the registry, she has 2 perfect matches should she need a transplant. I just wanted you to know that we are all here for you at any time. Don't ever hesitate to ask what ever you need.
BTW, mom has been holding strong on Vidaza for 14 months and her counts are good. It did take 6 months for it to start working though. She lives life as she did before she found out! Believe me it has not slowed her down...Good luck to you and your family and keep your chin up!
-Melanie
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