How blood helped keep them alive...
Lives Saved: Melissa | Kristin | Sabuco Twins | Savanah | David | Meghan | Damian | Ashley | Lexie | Ron
Melissa's Story
Melissa and family."It cannot be a coincidence that World Blood Donor Day is June 14. The same day my life was saved by donated blood. Amazing!"
-Melissa Price
On June 6, 2011, Melissa and her husband, Tim, and 3-year-old son, Flynn, welcomed twin boys, Keane and Hayes, into their family. Melissa's pregnancy and delivery had been normal. The twins were healthy and together weighed over 14 pounds which is considered big for twins. After a typical recovery period, Melissa went home to care for her family. "To me, my family was perfect and complete," she said.
However, eight days after the birth, Melissa began to hemorrhage at home while getting ready to take the twins to see their pediatrician. Melissa's mom drove her to Stanford Hospital. At her insistence, Tim took the twins to their appointment while Flynn played at the park with his nanny.
At Stanford, the bleeding was unstoppable. Melissa was rushed to the operating room. She woke up five hours later in agony and confused. "Turns out, things went from bad to worse to way worse in the operating room. My doctor performed an emergency surgery to save my life," said Melissa.
Melissa had lost two liters of blood. During the surgery, she was given four units of red blood cells and several units of additional blood products. The next day, her doctor ordered two more units of red blood cells at her bedside. It was transfused while she lay awake thinking about the people who had donated blood for her. "Because of blood donors, I am alive," she thought. "True, my doctor made life-saving decisions, but in the end what I needed to survive was blood. And thanks to complete strangers, my children have their mom."
Melissa works at Palo Alto Medical Foundation as a pediatric audiologist. Before her medical emergency, she remembers walking by red balloons and a sign announcing blood drives for Stanford Blood Center at least a dozen times. To her, it was just another blood drive. It was her husband and sister who were active blood donors. When Melissa sees those signs now, she has a new perspective on the importance of a plentiful blood supply.
At a recent Stanford Blood Center donor event, she had this emotional message for blood donors:
"Thank you, donors. Thank you for giving Flynn the opportunity to hold my hand on the way to his first day of preschool. And thank you for giving Hayes and Keane the opportunity to fall asleep to my lullabies. There are times when my mind goes back to that day and thinks 'What if it had gone the other way? What if I had not survived?' It is then that I look at my children and remind myself, 'It went this way.'
“On May 5, I celebrated another birthday and then a week later Mother's day. I had these days because of people like you. I am honored to be in your presence. I am in awe of your kindness, your selflessness. Don't ever forget what your gift means not only to the recipient, but also to their families. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for my life."
Kristin's Story
Kristin at Hillview CenterThe importance of blood donation wasn’t lost on Kristin. In fact, she had been a blood donor almost all of her adult life, when the tables were turned on her in 1994. Suddenly, Kristin wound up on the other side. During an emergency medical situation, she received six units of O-negative blood over the course of 24 hours. “That’s a lot of blood,” she said. “I’m so grateful that it was there for me.”
Forever appreciative of the unknown donors who made her transfusions possible, Kristin now donates regularly at Stanford Blood Center.
Conjoined Twins Angelica and Angelina Sabuco
Angelica and Angelina at 3 months oldStanford Blood Center donors helped support the successful surgery that separated conjoined twins, Angelica and Angelina Sabuco, at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital on Nov. 1, 2011. The surgery that took nearly 10 hours required the two-year-old girls to receive approximately 10 units of blood.
"We are so grateful to the medical team and selfless blood donors who made Angelica and Angelina's separation possible," said mother Ginady Sabuco. "Please give blood so that other patients have it available when they need it too."
For more information about Angelica and Angelina and the separation surgery, click here.
Angelina, Ginady, Vincent, Angelica and Fidel Sabuco
Healing and Growing: Savanah's Story
Shortly after her second birthday, Savanah began making frequent trips to her mother's room at night, complaining that her tummy ached. Her mother, Carine, wondered if the tummy aches weren't actually Savanah's attempt to gain a little extra attention. Carine did think it strange, however, that when Savanah said her tummy hurt, she was pointing or pulling on her chest and not her "tummy."
Savanah's complaints persisted and one night, Carine placed her hand on Savanah's torso and was surprised about how hot it was, even though Savannah did not have a fever.
Carine decided to bring Savanah in to her pediatrician for a checkup. The routine blood tests and examination revealed nothing. Despite the test results, Savanah's doctor was very concerned about Savanah's swollen and warm abdomen and ordered a CT scan. The scan clearly showed a mass in Savanah's tiny body. She was quickly admitted to a local hospital where a bone marrow and other tests revealed that Savanah suffered from neuroblastoma — a rare cancer that usually affects very young children.
Savanah's family was devastated by the news, and scrambled to bring her up to Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford from their home in Bakersfield. Since arriving in September 2006, the family has stayed at Ronald McDonald House (RMDH) while Savanah receives treatment. "The House has become our second home," remarks Carine. While at RMDH, Savanah has charmed many with her bright smile and cheerful personality. "Savanah's a very outgoing and talkative little girl. She's grown so much and has come so far," adds Carine.
Savanah's initial treatment consisted of several months of chemotherapy intended to shrink the 15 cm wide tumor growing inside her tiny body. To counteract the damaging effects of the intense chemotherapy, Savanah received many life-saving blood transfusions that bolstered her weak blood supply. "I'm so very grateful for the blood that helped Savanah. If there were no blood donors, I doubt Savanah would still be with us," says Carine.
Finally, in January 2007, chemotherapy had shrunk the tumor in Savanah's abdomen from 15 to 7 cm. Surgery was scheduled and a team of doctors operated for hours to remove the mass. Savanah's doctor is optimistic that the operation was successful. Despite the surgery, Savanah must still endure yet another difficult treatment. This March, Savanah will undergo a stem cell transplant at LPCH — a procedure that will require a lengthy hospital stay followed by a 100-day isolation period at RMDH. This treatment will almost certainly require additional transfusions of blood.
David's Story
Two-year-old David McNally, a bright and energetic toddler, was diagnosed shortly before his first birthday with Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (WAS), a rare disorder of the immune system. WAS results in abnormal functioning of the cells that fight off infections, and causes the body to produce defective platelets, leaving David susceptible to infections and bleeding.
At one-and-a-half-years, David suffered a severe brain hemmorhage resulting from a trampoline accident. Several platelet transfusions were required in order to stop the internal bleeding. "Simply put, donated platelets saved David's life," explains his mother, Aimee.
In an effort to repair his damaged immune system, David received a bone marrow transplant at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital in August 2006. As part of his treatment, David received numerous blood products while recovering from the procedure. His parents kept a constant vigil during the difficult 40 day stay in the hospital—a physically and emotionally exhausting labor of love.
Once well enough to leave the hosptial, David and his mother began their post-transplant 100 day stay at Ronald McDonald House. He and his mother shared a suite at the house's Immune Garden Wing—a specialized area designed to keep children receiving treatment for diseases that affect the immune system healthy while they recover.
In addition to providing a clean environment where David can regain his strength, Ronald McDonald House also offers David and his mom more "living room." David takes full advantage of the house's spacious indoor and outdoor play areas, and is happy to have other children to play with. Aimee especially enjoys being able to cook their own meals and connect with other families staying at the house. For Aimee, Ronald McDonald House has provided a much-needed supportive community that she is convinced contributes to David's recovery and her own sense of well-being. "Here at the house, we all have each other to rely upon and share our experiences with. This support is instrumental, especially given that most of us only see other members of our family on weekends."
According to his mother, David is doing just fine and acting more like a toddler everyday. The two look forward to returning home sometime in January 2007.
Meghan's Story
Meghan was completely dependent upon machines for her survival...
She had a rare and life-threatening blood disease known as TTP/HUS (Thrombotic
Thrombocytopenic Purpura or Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome). This meant she was bleeding internally. The disease destroyed her red blood cells, and shards of the cells ended up in her plasma, consequently clogging her kidneys. She needed daily plasma exchanges.
The plasma pheresis treatments she received took an average of an hour and a half a day, and she used an estimated 17 units of donated plasma each day she was in the hospital. She also endured rounds of chemotherapy and numerous blood transfusions. She received 987 units of blood products.
"Thanks to my family's tremendous love and support, my friends' constant encouragement, and the many anonymous donors whose blood saved my life, I was able to graduate from college with my class despite taking a semester off," Meghan said. Currently, she works full-time and is not hindered by any remaining effects of her illness.
"If 987 strangers had not donated blood, my story would be a different one. We are all so thankful that it was there for me."
Damian's Story
Matt is a member of the U.S. Armed Services and is stationed in Okinawa,
Japan. When his son, Damian, needed surgery they came to Lucile Packard
Children’s Hospital. Matt and his wife, Meelee, stayed at the Ronald
McDonald House while Damian had a Kasai operation, a surgical procedure
that creates a drainage system for bile by connecting the intestine directly
to the liver. It is used for an abnormality called biliary atresia in
which some or all of the normal bile drainage system is absent. Weighing
only seven pounds, Damian used two units of blood during the life-saving
operation. “It was nice to know that the blood was there,”
said Matt.
“Without blood transfusions, he would not have been able to pull
through,” Meelee said. “It saved his life.”
Ashley's Story
You would never know by looking at Ashley that just a year prior she’d had a kidney transplant operation that saved her life. Ashley had been on dialysis for three years before the call came that a kidney was available. Type-O blood transfusions helped her get through the surgery and a one-hundred-day stay at the Ronald McDonald House kept her near Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital for treatment while she recovered. Ashley’s dad, Jay, is a regular blood donor, and is grateful to all those who have helped Ashley get healthy again.
Lexie's Story
At only 5-months-old, Lexie needed six units of blood during a nine-hour liver transplant operation that saved her life. Doctors at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital expect Lexie to grow up healthy and happy thanks, in part, to the blood donors that saved her life. "Both the family that donated an organ and the people who donated blood saved her life," explained her mother, Wendy.
Ron's Story
Ron needed hundreds of units of blood to stay alive during his successful battle with leukemia at Stanford Hospital. In October 2000, Ron underwent a bone marrow transplant (BMT) and had to be hospitalized and kept in a quarantined room for two-months. Ron received many platelet transfusions. "I never knew it took so much blood to keep people alive in the BMT area. It's staggering to know I was there for 10 months getting blood products, sometimes daily."