I have spoken to close family and friends about the transplant but have not gone into such detail as I have in this article. After speaking about the transplant people have said how brave I was and that it must have been really tough. It was tough at points but I am not the hero of this story. The whole process was something that was done to me, I can take no credit as I just sat through it all. The real heroes are the doctors and nurses, the consultants and the bone marrow transplant professionals that conduct the procedures. The NHS staff saved my life and never asked me for a penny. I owe them my life and will be forever grateful to all of them. And just as important are all the people that have gone through this process before me. The people who paved the way and have shaped the way procedure is done today. It wasn’t always as pleasant as it is now.
Thankfully, I made it through and sit here today typing out my story. I have been able to spend time with my family and friends and have seen my little niece and nephew grow up. I have seen my 40th birthday and have met the most wonderful girl in the world, whom I plan to marry. I completed my degree and have landed a good job. I had a lot of time to think about things and have come out the other end being much more respectful of life. Not only my own life, but others too.
It’s not only the medical staff that should be thanked, but the person who donated their bone marrow that day. They would have had to go through a bone marrow harvest and would have probably been in the same hospital as me the day I received the transplant. I am not allowed to know the identity of the donor and only know that he was a 28-year-old male. It is possible for me to contact the donor through the hospital, which I plan on doing this Christmas. I can send the letter to my consultant who will forward it on to him.
I hope this article helps someone out there who is unfortunate enough to have blood cancer. If you have any questions regarding anything I have written here, I am happy to answer them.
For more information regarding AML and how it gets treated visit the governments AML website
