Life 4 Agnes

Hi friends and family, I'm fundraising for my mom Agnes' 2nd stem cell transplant for her blood cancer known as Myelodysplastic Syndrome. Her first transplant on September 7th was declared to be a graft failure last month, but with the stroke of crazy luck, we found out on October 26 that my mom’s only willing and eligible sibling is a perfect match for my mom, and can donate her stem cells for a second transplant! The doctors are optimistic about the second transplant because my mom's organ functions are still good, and her donor sister is a full match with the same blood type, which decreases a lot of uncertainties for a successful engraftment. I believe that each day she is alive is another day to keep fighting, and I hope you can help us win this fight.

 

Me (right) looking at my mom (right) and smiling at the thought that I get to see her live another day.

The costs for the medicines and blood transfusions required for a stem cell transplant is approximately PHP 3 million (USD 60, 000) because public health care in the country (Philippines) covers only a miniscule amount, so we hope a fundraiser can cover some costs of this 2nd transplant.

 

Back Story:

In 2015, my mom suffered from severe 10-hour nosebleeds due to dangerously low platelet counts. After two blood transfusions, eight runs to the emergency room, multiple blood tests, and a bone marrow test, my mom found out that she has MDS. This means that her bone marrow does not produce enough healthy blood cells, which causes her platelet count to drop as low as 10,000 (140,000 below the normal count).

 

 

 

For 5 years my mom managed her MDS by taking maintenance medicines. However, her MDS is progressive and continues to get worse. An internal bleeding incident last year prompted her to try chemotherapy; but after 3 cycles of chemotherapy, her white blood cells reached a dangerously low level, and her platelet count was not improving. Hence, the doctor suggested stem cell transplantation as a last resort.

 

Mother's doctors and nurses threw her a "birthday party" on Sept. 7-- the day of her first stem cell transplant. Unfortunately, it was declared to be a graft failure 4 weeks later.

On September 7, 2021 my sister’s stem cells were transplanted into my mom. However, since my sister’s stem cells only half match my mom’s, and my mom has antibodies against my sister’s stem cells, the procedure did not work. The doctors suspect that my mom's antibodies killed the stem cells donated by my sister, as indicated by a spike in her antibodies. At this point, we all felt hopeless having invested so much time and financial resources in the treatment which we thought would make her better, but actually made her a lot weaker to the point of having to rely on daily blood transfusions and antibiotics for survival.

 

Chemotherapy and radiation caused hair loss

*** WARNING: GRAPHIC PICTURE AHEAD ***

Before undergoing the transplantation, my mom had to go through chemotherapy and radiation therapy that killed her own blood cells in her bone marrow, to make space for the stem cells that would be transplanted. However, since the stem cells did not engraft, she no longer has the ability to produce her own white and red blood cells and platelets. Hence, she has been relying on antibiotics and blood transfusions to stay alive for the past 58 days.

 

 

After the transplant failed, mother has been at high risk for infections, bleeding and running out of red blood cells

 

Despite many instances when my mom nearly bled to death because of her cancer, she has been strong and hopeful for a recovery. When her first transplant on Sept. 7, 2021 was confirmed as a graft failure 4 weeks later, we all felt defeated. Without access to a stem cell donor registry in the Philippines, we thought that our only option was to watch her die slowly. Things were bleak until we found out that one of her sisters is a willing and eligible full match donor, which has sparked a new sense of hope for a 2nd and successful transplant on November 10th. We hope you can join us win this battle, and walk with her journey towards healing.