Bone Marrow Transplant

Medical science and research has done a great deal to extend the lives that we live and also to improve the quality of our lives.

There are many diseases and disorders from the past that no longer exist today because of the research and preventative measures that we are able to take against them. Many one time vaccines are able to protect us from crippling and deadly diseases that only a few years ago affected millions. 

Along with preventative measures there are also surgeries and transplants that can be performed to prolong the lives of individuals with disease. Some of these procedures have been around long enough that we have lost the awe and wonder that should go along with the procedures.

A dear friend of ours had to have bone marrow transplant. Her brother was a perfect match and was in good physical condition to under go the procedure. He was so excited to help his sister feel better that he gladly with stood the pain that goes with a bone marrow transplant.

The brother and sister checked into the medical facility together. They were in operating rooms next door to each other. The brother had the bone marrow extracted from his hip area. The marrow was then injected into his sister. This is a very simplified explanation of a very in-depth process.

Both of them were hospitalized for several days and then had to wait for two weeks to have the preliminary results whether or not the bone more transplant was successful.

Everyone that knows them waited impatiently for the results. This was the last procedure that was available to her to prolong her life. When the initial results came in, the news was encouraging: her blood count had risen and she reported feeling stronger. Her brother healed from the bone marrow transplant and was able to resume his normal activities. He is so hopeful that he had given his sister the gift of a longer life.

There are many other transplants that are available to people:

• Kidney transplants have become almost a routine procedure,
• Heart surgeries that used to be performed only in select hospitals across the country are now done daily in most hospitals that are equipped for surgery.

Diagnostic testing is starting to resemble some of the procedures that were shown in Star Trek.

Science and medicine are giving many people the chance for longer lives and improved living conditions. Most people that have experienced these life saving and life prolonging procedures have an awe for medicine and a strong faith in a higher power.