In early 2011, Barrington resident Joanne Sullivan started to notice she was feeling out of breath.

At that time, she didnt do anything about it, but in May, when walking up a hill in town required her to stop three times to catch her breath, she couldnt ignore it any longer.

She visited her doctor in May and was put right in the hospital. Almost within a day, she was diagnosed with myelofibrosis, a bone marrow cancer that blocks production of red blood cells.

After undergoing blood transfusions, she began to feel better but also was researching her condition.

Its something a lot of people can live with for a long time, she said.

However, Sullivans blood counts never stabilized, and she was getting blood transfusions every month. At 56, she decided she couldnt live being transfusion-dependent.

Her doctor at Mayo Clinic, Mrinal Patnaik, told her about stem cell donations and she didnt hesitate.

I just said, Lets go for it, she said.

When a related match could not be found, Patnaik, a consultant in the division of hematology and bone marrow transplant, turned to the marrow registry. He selected a 55-year-old man from Germany as Sullivans donor.

Her transplant was scheduled for Jan. 18, 2012, and went smoothly. As a matter of fact, she was back to work in May.

View post:
The full circle

Comments are closed.