Hi everyone! My dad will be undergoing a bone marrow transplant as he has myelodysplastic syndrome and is expected to be in hospital in an isolated ward / quarantining for at least 3 months. Does anyone have any suggestions about what I could prepare for him to take with him by way of entertainment or to feel less lonely? Thanks!
Hi AP88 I don't normally post in this group but I noticed your post and wanted to reach out..... and apologies to all the group members for jumping into your group.
The journey your dad is going on is both unique and amazing process.
Stem Cell Transplant (for some reason consultants still use the old term Bone Marrow Transplant) is a process that rewrites the immune system killing off the cancer cells. and giving an all new immune system.... the hope is to achieve long term remission.
I have had 2 Allogeneic (donour) Stem Cell Transplants (SCT)....first in June 2014 then the second in Oct 2015....... and I am now 7.5 years out from my last treatment, remain in remission from my very rare type of blood cancer, turned 67 last November and living a great life.
As the SCT process is rather unusual we do actually have a dedicated Stem cell transplant support group where you can talk with others who are navigating or have navigated the SCT journey both as patients and carers.
I will say that based on the many conversations I have had over the years the average time in the SCT unit is about 4 weeks (I was 29 days in my unit) and yes during Covid SCT units did not let visitors in but this has changed now and most people I talk with do get family and friends into see them as long as the folks are healthy.
Do join the group by clicking the “Bold Link” I have created above then once the group page opens click on “Click to Join” when the black banner appears or “Join” under “Group Tools” (this all depends on the device you are using). You can then put up your own post when you’re ready by clicking “+new” or “+” in the top right next to the group title. You can copy and paste the text from this post into your new post.
I will keep an eye open for you and am happy to share both my experiences as a patient but also my wife experience as my carer.
