A Bone Marrow Biopsy

If you’re like me, you’ve probably never witnessed a bone marrow biopsy procedure before. That’s right, even though I’ve had more procedures done to me than I care to remember, I have never actually seen the procedure being performed on me. This is because, 1. I always have to lie on my stomach, and 2. I’ve always been too scared to try and look.

But during today’s procedure, I mustered up the courage and asked my herculean wife to take pictures of it so I could finally see what it was all about. I call my wife herculean because she’s been exceptionally strong and courageous for me throughout my entire cancer experience; and after I saw the pictures, it amazes me even more how strong and courageous she really is. I know for certain that if the roles were reversed and I had to be there to support her during one of these procedures, especially during the first time, I would pass out. For real.

I also asked my wife to take the pictures so I could share them with others who may be interested in learning and seeing what a bone marrow biopsy is all about. But please be warned, these pictures may be disturbing for some people. If you’re still interested, please click the more link.

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My Donor and Me

So, in a little over a month I am scheduled to have my bone marrow transplanted. It sounds daunting but according to my nurse practitioner it will be rather anti-climactic. Apparently, I will receive the bone marrow harvested from my donor in the same manner I would receive a blood transfusion: hang the bags, hook … Read more

The Registry Works!

My wife ran into my doctor this morning while walking about the hospital. After exchanging pleasantries and having a discussion about setting up an appointment for me to meet the new head doctor of oncology, my wife asked my doctor what he thought about the possibilities of the match for my bone marrow transplant. The … Read more

Donor Update – 2/2/10

Email excerpt from my Bone Marrow Donor Coordinator: Hello, I emailed the information below to [Kurt’s doctors]; I am still hoping to find another match– but as of date we only have one. Kurt Brindley MR # X-XXX-XX-XX: has 2 haplo* sisters, 1 disparate** sister, 2 MUD [Matched Unrelated Donors] Mis- Matches and 1 MUD … Read more

Bloodwish

There has been much focus on finding a bone marrow donor match for me. It makes sense because the sole reason I am going through all of the nausea and discomfort of the chemotherapy treatment is to destroy my diseased and dysfunctional bone marrow and replace it with someone’s healthy bone marrow. I named my … Read more

Donor Update – 1/11/10

Email excerpt from my Bone Marrow Donor Coordinator: I have found potential MUD [Matched Unrelated Donor] donors but I just requested the samples to be sent here for testing to see if they are fully matched. The samples are kept in the individual registry repository I do not have any planned arrival dates from the … Read more