I feel very calm for someone who's waiting around to see if their second stem cell donor is really a match, really available and really willing. It's kind of like hyper-suspension-limbo-land.
Everything's OK. Everything just moves along. I can be in my life. I'm not sick, BESIDES THIS COUGH!!! (Ok, you can tell THAT'S bothering me!). But, the weekend was normal. Went to the Royal Airforce Museum. Went to puppy class. In fact, going to see Peter Frampton tonight! Frampton Comes Alive from beginning to end. Same as 6th grade. Except without the hair. Neither he nor I have much now.
But I must say that having my first donor need to step out has made me understand the potential gravity of the situation. I'm officially not one of those people where a donor just easily pops off the registry into my lap. There is now some tension here. But it's nothing like the fear that someone who does not have any obvious matches might feel. For me, I am very hopeful, (quite confident in fact) that a 10 out of 10 match will be found for me. I think this is mostly because I'm 100% Jewish in ethnicity. There are a lot of Jews on the registry. Which is so fantastic. It's more difficult for the many people who have nasty blood diseases that are of mixed race or of ethnicity that doesn't tend to join the registry. It's so sad. Horrifying really. That there could be a cure for each of them but there isn't because there's no match. I do not mean to be Debby Downer here. There is something so simple everyone can do! Register! And after you're done, pass it on how good you felt about doing it! You, or a friend of yours, might be able to save someone's life!!!! That ain't no joke!
If you're in the UK you can register with The Anthony Nolan:
If you're in the US you can register with Be The Match http://marrow.org/Home.aspx
At least check out the websites to see what it's all about. It's cutting edge medicine. There are 18M people registered worldwide. A giant thank you to my dear heart Kaethe Zellner who is organizing a bone marrow drive in Colorado. And giant thank you's to everyone who has registered since I've been diagnosed. Off the top of my head that is: Kaethe, Gordon, Allison, Susanne, Jenny, Elsie, Mark, Adam, Andrea, Alexa, Heidi, Abby, Mary and Laura and Saul. If I missed you, or if you decide and go register, than please leave me a comment and let me know! It'll make both of us feel really good.
Lots of love from sunny London today. Maybe take another listen to Frampton's "All I Want to Be (Is By Your Side)". It's an astonishingly beautiful song.
Cheers,
Dina
It was so easy to become a donor!! I just filled out a questionnaire online, they sent me a spit-test, I sent it back and now I'm on there! I don't know if they'll ever need me to donate but it feels good to know that I could potentially help someone. Also, if they do need me to donate, it's not like you get a big needle that goes into your bone--it's usually just taken out of your arm like giving blood. No problem! :)
ReplyDeleteSee? All you have to do is SPIT!!
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