Patience and Possibilities
We have some news to share. Burrell’s counts are very slowly going up and the doctor is pleased! What exactly does this mean? It means that they believe there is reason to hope the immunosuppression treatment is working. This is a very slow process, and it could still be months before we know if this has truly worked, but there is reason to hope.
We have also had more discussions around next steps and what happens if this treatment isn’t the answer. This would mean a stem cell transplant. This has always been part of the conversation, so meeting with the transplant team wasn’t anything new and it did not come as a surprise to us. We did get new information though: as of now, there is no full match for Burrell which is what they would really want to proceed with a transplant if it is necessary. If it were to become an urgent transplant situation, there are options, but that is not a route any of us want to take. Ultimately, the discussions around transplant exist because it is curative and we wouldn’t have to worry about relapse, but it is not without risks. For now, we are focusing on the immunosuppression treatment working.
In the meantime, we are hoping a full match becomes available in case it is needed. We are working with the National Bone Marrow Transplant Registry (Be The Match) to do this. They have been amazing! Their team put materials together to raise awareness so that individuals can be tested for matching for Burrell and the many others who are looking for a lifesaving match. It is as simple as swabbing your cheek! I’ve included the awesome graphic they made for individuals to register to test (Sign Up!.) You can also just text “Burrell” to 61474. All you need is to be between 18-40, and in generally good health. The sign-up process walks you through the screening and it is super easy! We encourage those that can sign up to please do so. We also ask that everyone share this with others. There is a huge need, especially for non-white donors.
To sum up, we are celebrating the small win and are asking everyone that can to sign up to donate bone marrow, and are asking everyone to share the graphic!
For more information on donating and stem cell transplants please meander on over to this page.