10 years ago, on Feb 2nd, my sister Kelsey died while undergoing a stem cell transplant at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Maryland. Many of you all may remember Kelsey and her story and can skip the the last paragraph of this post.
For those who don't, she was born with an extremely rare disease which didn't have a name or a treatment. She was in and out of hospitals her whole life seeking a hope and a treatment. Her search for answers brought her to the NIH where she took part in a research program at the NIH for a large part of her life. Through that program doctor's discovered and named the disease DOCK8. She was at a point with her quickly deteriorating health where she needed to pursue an experimental, yet potentially life changing solution. She went forward with a stem cell transplant, the first to ever to attempt it with this disease. While not successful for Kelsey, the doctors were able to improve upon what they learned from her. Kelsey had dedicated her body to science and research. A few years later my sister Karly went through a stem cell transplant that has been a huge success for her. Since Kelsey, many others with the DOCK8 disease have gone on to have successful life changing transplants. Her sacrifice and struggle in life has lead to the healing of generations more to follow.
Before going into the transplant, Kelsey wanted to record the most important moment in her life. This is my big sister's testimony.
No comments:
Post a Comment