Update for October 3, 2007

Hello again, friends.

Kristina received difficult news on Monday, October 1: her Bone Marrow Transplant has been delayed.

The reason for the delay is that doctors tried but were not able to harvest enough stem cells from her sister, Kim, who had previously been identified as a bone marrow donor. Kim is now on her way back to her home in France. Kristina is at her home in Seattle.

Kristina has now been placed on the National Bone Marrow Donor Registration List, the purpose of which is to find an “unrelated donor.” Among the many things we don't know at this point is how long this process might take; Kristina has been told it may be five weeks, it may be 2-4 months, and it may be six months.


Changes to the Strategy

This latest development changes the medical strategy dramatically. For one thing, although she will not be admitted into the hospital right away, her health will be monitored and she will have blood draws on a weekly basis. Kristina will also have another Bone Marrow Aspiration and Biopsy in two weeks.

Here’s a quick, overly simplified background on Kristina’s condition: She was diagnosed with myleodysplasia syndrome (MDS), which can be a precursor to acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). What’s supposed to happen in a human body is that bone marrow creates stem cells which go on to become blood cells. In MDS, and then AML, these cells don’t form properly; instead, they become a malignant cell called a myleoblast, or just a “blast cell.” If you have 10% blast cells, you have MDS, which is what Kristina was diagnosed with. If you have 20% blasts, you have AML. Her levels reached 19% in August, which precipitated her first round of chemo.

The only cure for MDS is a bone marrow transplant, which Kristina was hoping to get from her sister. For various medical reasons, that’s no longer an option; hence Kristina’s placement on the national donor list. The irony here is that MDS can’t be cured by chemotherapy alone, whereas AML can.

Kristina’s upcoming bone marrow biopsy is to check the blast percentages in her bone marrow. As of September 20, after her first round of chemotherapy, her blast percentage was down to 1.1%. Should it reach 5% or above, she will likely go in for more chemotherapy treatments. The tricky thing here is that, after chemo, she will still have MDS (though it will be reduced), but she will also have the short-term and long-term effects of the chemotherapy, which she needs healthy blood cells to recover from.

So what we should be praying for at this point is a good match for a bone marrow transplant.


One Way You Can Help

Meanwhile, it is now easy to make donations, via check or credit card, to Kristina's medical fund. To use your credit card, visit Kristina's page at the National Transplant Assistance Fund (NTAF). If you prefer to write a check, make it out to “NTAF Northwest Bone Marrow Transplant Fund,” then in the memo section of the check, write “In honor of Kristina Southard.” Then mail the check to this address:

NTAF
150 N. Radnor Chester Road
Suite- F120
Radnor, PA 19087

Fore more information on this process, or about the NTAF, call 800-642-8399 or visit transplantfund.org. You can also donate by credit card over the phone. All donations are tax-deductible, and all money will be spent on Kristina's needed medical expenses.


Looking Forward

This week's news is extremely disappointing, but we will persevere. Kristina asks that everyone please send tons of positive energy.

Stay tuned to this website for further updates. It is being maintained by Paul Gerald in Portland, Oregon, whom you may reach at paul@paulgerald.com. We will also be adding two other features: a calendar so people can volunteer as fill-in caregivers, and charts so we can all keep up with where Kristina’s blood levels are.

We are in the early planning stages on some music-related fund raisers in the Seattle area, so please stay tuned.

Also, the guestbook at Kristina’s CaringBridge.com site is still available for signing.

Thank you for staying in touch, and God bless.