Talk Tuesday

Hey Guys!!!

Good morning trust you had a wonderful Monday with the tips I shared yesterday :) . I had planned for today to be for random talk but I was going through my facebook page and found a very heart warming story that I could not resist but share here for you my wonderful readers.

Dr. Jennifer Krajewski, Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital at HackensackUMC, stands behind Elizabeth, Tosin and Esther Adegboyega as they celebrate Elizabeth being cured of Sickle Cell Anemia. PHOTO COURTESY: HACKENSAKUMC

Seven years ago at 20 weeks pregnant, Tosin Adegboyega, of Rahway, was given the news that her unborn daughter would be born with Sickle Cell Anemia. Even after having her second child, Esther, who was free of the disease, Tosin never once gave up hope for a breakthrough for Elizabeth.

"My OB/GYN called me to say my amniocentesis was positive for sickle cell and I laid on the kitchen floor with my face down sobbing. I had bonded with my child and knew I had to carry the pregnancy to full-term. Throughout my pregnancy, I convinced myself that my child did not have sickle cell. The world calls it denial; I call it faith," said Tosin.

After years of managing Elizabeth’s illness with rounds of penicillin, pain-relieving medications and constant viral attacks that kept her in and out of the Emergency Department, Tosin met with Dr. Jennifer Krajewski, in the Department of Pediatric Blood and Bone Marrow Transplantation at the Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital at HackensackUMC. She learned of the Reduced Intensity Stem Cell Transplantation that would offer a possible cure. The greatest chance of a full cure was with a sibling match and it turned out that her younger sister, Esther, age six, was a match.

"I got really excited and did the HLMA typing kit when it was mailed to my home. I sent in the specimen and in two weeks found out the girls were a match. I cried tears of joy and shouted halleluiah! The next day I called HackensackUMC and the journey to transplant began," said Tosin.

HackensackUMC currently has a study, "Reduced Intensity Stem Cell Transplantation for Sickle Cell Anemia in Patients two to 30 years old," where matching disease-free bone marrow is transplanted into the patient to eradicate the disease.

On March 27, 2014, both Elizabeth and Esther went into surgery for the bone marrow transplant. Esther’s donation was taken from her hip bone and done in an outpatient setting. She was able to go home later that day. Elizabeth had a four-week stay as the stem cell transplant took hold and started to fight the Sickle Cell Anemia.

"Both girls were delightful to care for — Elizabeth was an amazing patient during her month-long stay for the transplant. Esther did an amazing job during the donation," said Dr. Krajewski.

Elizabeth just celebrated the one-year anniversary of her transplant and is considered 100-percent cured of Sickle Cell Anemia. She will be continually monitored for the next few months as a part of the study.

"Although we can only offer this treatment to a small number of patients because we need a perfect match, we have 11 patients enrolled in the study with matched sibling donors," said Dr. Krajewski. "The overall survival and cure of the sickle cell disease are both a remarkable 100 percent. Although our study is institution-al only, many other centers across the nation are performing this transplant and our study will become part of the national consortium later this year."


This post is courtesy...Northjersey.com

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