I never expected the medical community to do all the work – I did everything in my power to survive, including growing my own food, exercising, and becoming a partner with my doctor
Growing up, I never saw sickle cell as an issue. I climbed trees, ran around barefoot, and played. I never used sickle cell as a crutch or as an excuse.
“My biggest moment of breakdown was when my dad picked me up from the hospital. I’d been holding it together so long that, when I got in the car, I just lost it. My dad said, ‘you saved up all your tears for me…thank you!’”
Jodi Nelc learned the importance of knowledge and advocacy when her daughter faced a bone marrow transplant and a severe case of graft-versus-host disesase (GVHD).
It felt like being in lockdown again. Not that we ever really came out of lockdown – my husband Jim was diagnosed with advanced follicular lymphoma just a few months into the pandemic, so we never stopped wearing masks and avoiding social events.
Valerie Gibbons Monona, Wisconsin Acute Myeloid Leukemia Transplanted in 2007 Many thanks to the American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy and Incyte for helping us share Valerie’s story. “I call myself a
Though successful, the process of transplant extended beyond Julio’s hospital stay. It broke his body down, and then his mind and spirit. Learn how Julio healed and became stronger.
The Process of undergoing and recovering from a blood stem cell transplant or CAR T-cell therapy is long and often difficult. It can help to share your stories with others.
If you are a transplant or CAR T survivor, donor or family member and would like to share your story, click the button below to submit. We can’t promise to post every story, but we’d love to hear about your experience and insights.