First Hurdle Crossed!

Today was the first of good news we received since finding out Melissa’s blood counts were low back in April.

It’s been a struggle with monthly, weekly trips to multiple hospitals and not getting answers. We have been on “wait and watch” approach but unfortunately her counts have dropped further and is now considered intermediate risk and requires treatment.

We are at the very edge of needing to make a decision – chemo to try and improve her numbers temporally, or jump straight into Bone Marrow Transplant for potential cure.

The decision is not going to be easy. Both carry risks and she will be out of work, quarantined away from friends and family until her immune system improves. Although the Transplant comes with more risk, it is the only “cure” for MDS. Carol (Melissa’s mother who also has MDS) was unable to find a match for transplant, so the search for a donor the last few days has been extremely stressful.

Today – we received the call that Dana_Farber has found 15 potential matches for Melissa!!!! It’s still just the first hurdle and nothing confirmed yet, but it’s a huge relief and the first good news we received since this started.