Twins

2009-10-28T18:59:00.002-06:00

Hey everyone! I just wanted to let everyone know that I am doing great now! I am disease free, and I am in no pain! I am getting a job soon! Oh and I took a course on phlebotomy, if you don't know what phlebotomy is, it is drawing blood. I would have never pursued this career if I hadn't gone through my diseases, A blessing in disguise in many ways. I will continue to go further in the medical Field, I love it! Thank you to everyone who put me in their prays and helped my family, I am so grateful! Love and Light Always!

~*SaRaH*~

Hey everyone! Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T22:52:00.008-07:00

I have been feeling pretty good for about 3 weeks! The reason why is because my doctors took me off of that crazy anti depressant, they put me back on steroids, and gave me a fentanyl patch for my pain. None of my doctors know why I am still in pain, they don't know what to do with me anymore but I am glad that I am feeling good right now. I still have my bad days and don't really remember how it feels to feel normal, as my doctors ask me, I just tell them I don't know how to answer that. I don't know how long I will have to stay on steroids because my adrenal glands are abnormal, who knows I might be on them for the rest of my life :( I can handle it, and be strong, whateve

r happens happens. My family is doing well and we all had a great Christmas! I got a camera, an Edgar Allen Poe book, money, popcorn machine, a few other things and lots of love! Well I just wanted to let ev

eryone know how me and my family were doing. Take care, Love and Light always!

2008-11-18T19:57:00.005-07:00

I never had to have surgery for the air around my bowels, thank god! I did get to go on the roof with my family to see the fireworks! We were the only ones allowed up there, It was awesome. I love my Nurses and doctors! I did not have to have surgery. I think my bowels are fine now. I don't know if I can tell you everything that has been going on since it has been so long since I have written, and there is a reason for that. I have not been feeling to well, I don't know what is going on. I felt great for a while after the hospital and now my joints hurt, my head and neck hurts, my whole body aches and I am depressed. I thought about not telling the whole truth about what I am going through because I don't want anyone to worry, but it needs to be said for those who truly want to know exactly how it feels to be going through all of this. I am in therapy once a week now which is helping with my depression. But when I allowed my therapist to talk with one of my doctors, the one that per scribes me all of my drugs, things went a little down hill. I guess the both of them thought I was so depressed that they had to put me on the strongest depressant and have me stay on my current depressant. the depressants are paxal (the one I have been on for a few months) and Effexor (the strongest). The first day I took this combination I felt like I was running around like a chicken with its head cut off and really happy. I went from having a hard time moving to caring heavy baskets of laundry up and down the stairs, cleaning my room bathroom and in no more than two hours. I couldn't stop moving, tapping, shaking, my brain going crazy. a few days latter the drug Effexor, that had three pages of side effects, started to take me down hill. I was in a hell I could not get out of. I don't know how to explain it but I felt like I was the most insane person in the world, in pain so much pain physically and emotionally. My mom called the doctors and they thought I was going suicidal on them. I didn't feel like I was going to kill myself because of my spirituality and family but if I was on that drug for one more day who knows what could have happened. This is the day after and I am still feeling a little crazy, the doctor said three days to get out of my system. for my pain they changed me from methadone (which was also making me crazy) to a patch. I can tell you right now it is not working very well. But anyways my mom and I will get it all handled our next visit and I will be fine. I just hope this is over soon, I want to be normal, I now, what is normal? to me normal is how I used to feel about 10 months ago. For now I will try to keep my head held high, be positive and soak inn the love that is all around me. I love you all and may god always be with you!

~*SaRaH*~

Result from C.T. Scan.

2008-07-03T14:19:00.002-06:00

I went in for my C.T. scan and when the results came back everyone was freaking out because they could see air pockets in and around my bowels. Just in case, they had me stay in the hospital, but the weird thing is, is I am in no pain in my stomach. The surgeon came to see me and told me she thinks that it might go away on its own if we hook me up to an iv and take stronger antibiotics. So hopefully no surgery. The cause of this might be because of the cmv or the steroids so it could be fixed easily. What I have is called pneumatosis. I also have not eaten anything since 12 noon yesterday, and am not allowed to eat or drink at all today. I am going a little crazy. I really want to eat. tomorrow I might be able to have some broth, mmmm. I am excited that we get to go up on the roof and watch the fireworks tonight and tomorrow night! I am also excited that I will probably be out of here at the end of this weekend! Love and Light Always!

~*SaRaH*~

CMV

2008-07-02T16:40:00.004-06:00

Update. I have a virus in my blood called c.m.v. I am on a new drug for it that will hopefully help. I am at LDS Hospital right now waiting to go in for a ct scan. When I went in for my chest ex ray they found something in my stomach, so I am going to have the scan to see what it is. My doctor doesn't seem too worried about it. My stomach has been cramping up really bad when I am trying to sleep at night, I have been more tired, and my headaches are worse. I think some of those are from the new medication, but I believe everything will be fine. My chest ex rays are fine, and my caugh is gone. Love and Light Always!

~*SaRaH*~

Not much happenen!

2008-06-25T21:13:00.004-06:00

Hey everyone, I know that a lot of you want me to write more but right now my life is pretty boring, as it should be. The doctors warned me that the healing process at home would be boring but if it is what I have to do to get better I will be bored for a while. There is one thing new that has happened, I have a cough and so I am going to the hospital tomorrow for a chest x-ray. I hope that everything is okay and not to serious. I am getting really sick of my steroids, they are making me pretty chunky but we are looking for an exercise bike. Other than all of that I am doing really good, I think I am healing fast and can't wait to get back out into the world! I really love when people leave comments so feel free! Thank you all so much for your love and support!

~*SaRaH*~

It's me again!

2008-06-13T17:12:00.002-06:00

Hey everyone, I just went for my 3rd checkup since I've been out of the hospital. I am doing great, my counts are up and I have not needed a blood or platelet transfusion since the day they let me out! My body is producing it all on its own! I am so happy! They said I am doing so well that they don't have to see me once a week anymore, I go back for my next check up in two weeks! I am so lucky that I am doing so well and I know it is mainly because of my special donor, my twin sis Chelsea! I love her so much! Oh also another great update, if everything goes well I will not have to wear my mask anymore once I am off my steroids. My last day is July 16, and the doctors told me that it would be 3 months after I was out of the hospital that I would be wearing that mask, but as you can see things have changed because I am progressing so fast! Thank you again everyone for being so supportive and loving it has really helped me along.

~*SaRaH*~

It's Me Sarah!

2008-05-31T11:05:00.004-06:00

****look up skype on google and download it. It's so that you can IM or video chat with Sarah while she is home. Once you have skype downloaded add sary1inamillion

***Another note: I have heard from many that they are unable to leave comments. I have now set this blog to accept comments from any visitor:) Just click the comment link left of the little yellow pencil below any update and leave a comment!!!:) you can leave an anonymous comment and then just leave your name in the comment.

Hey everyone, this is Sarah writing! I am home now and feel great to be out of that hospital. Don't get me wrong I am so grateful for everything that all my doctors, Dr. peterson, Dr. Ash and Dr. ford have done for me and also the wonderful Nurses at L.D.S. hospital. They saved my life! But it was so hard going through everything that I can't even explain it. I see this disease as a blessing in my life also because it has brought so much good and positive things in to not only my life but others as well. I just want to thank all of you for being so loving and supportive! I have had so much love to get me through this hard journey. I just posted some new pictures of my home coming and my new wigs, I hope you will enjoy! I am doing a lot better and hope I wont have any set backs to where I have to go back to the hospital. I still have to where my mask for at least another 3 months and be very very careful not to get sick but I cant explain how happy I am to be home! I can deal with all of that just to be home! My twin sis is doing good, she left to oregon with my father last night to go see my grandfather. My grandfather isn't doing so well so they are going to see him. I wont be all the way better for about another year, but hope to See a lot of you soon! Thank you all again! Love and Light Always!

~*SaRaH*~

HOME!!!

2008-05-27T15:00:00.002-06:00

Sarah is coming home yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

NAPS & ENGRAFTMENT

2008-05-22T16:47:00.006-06:00

I am still at the hospital with Sarah. she is taking a nap right now. The drugs that they have her on make her sigh and talk in her sleep... it is the cutest thing, right now she is saying "you wanna watch this?" "sigh" "what is that?" "sigh" "chelsea?" "sigh"... she says everything in question form, once she said my name it made me so happy! She's dreaming about me:o) I have always told everyone that I have never had a dream without Sarah in it, we are as one in my dreams, she is always by my side... for her to say my name while she is sleeping just confirmed that I am with her as well.

She started to feel a lot better after this morning past, doctor Peterson and the nurse practitioner Amity came in and told us that her neutrophils are at a 6... just yesterday they were at a 2... Neutrophils: are the most abundant type of white blood cells in humans and form an integral part of the immune system. The docs are so impressed with Sarah, she is improving so quickly. The doctors also said that if she stays above a 5,that means she has reached engraftment. and if her rash mellows out, she starts to eat, and her temp does not rise then she should be able to go home in 4-5 days... now this isn't certain, nothing ever is so don't get too excited... but we are keeping our fingers crossed!!!

SARYBEARY

2008-05-22T12:10:00.005-06:00

I am at the hospital right now with Sarah!!! It had been 13 days too long, I am so happy to see her... I can't touch her because I was sick 4 days ago so we wouldn't want to risk her getting an infection, I really want to hug her :0( She's not doing so well because the steroids are making her really irritated and depressed, there has been a lot of crying today, it's really hard to explain how rough it is for her. Even though I have been speaking to her through the web cam on Skype, I didn't understand how horrible it is for her each day!!! Both Sarah and my mom agree that "there are no good days in this room only better days than some" She is so strong SO VERY STRONG! Her body is also working overtime to build everything back up causing her to become very tired. It's amazing to think about it, no wonder they call it her second birthday... She really is being reborn, growing and reforming a part of her body that for some unknown reason quit working! Just looking at her gives me a whole new respect for life and how powerful the body, mind and sarah's BEAUTIFUL SOUL can be.

*Once again I want to thank all of you, your support has been amazing!!!;)

My sweet

2008-05-19T11:23:00.006-06:00

So I couldn't go see Sarah on Sunday because I'm sick... I am so mad!!! I really want to see my sweet, but I would never want to be the one to cause something serious. If she were to get what I have it would be deadly, so I have to wait till next week to see her. She isn't doing so well, she keeps getting really high temps and the rash on her whole body is still there, I just want her pain to go away:( I love her so much, more than I could have ever imagined! A few months ago we would bicker all the time... now I can't even imagine anything other than hugging the stuffing out of her and rubbing that bald head of hers ha ha ha;)

Dido Videos | Movie Clips

great news

2008-05-17T00:39:00.005-06:00

Great great news!!! yesterday we found out that Sarah is producing blood cells... and only after a week! That is amazing, they told her it would be 21 days! I don't have all the details yet but I thought I should just do a quick update for everyone:) right now she isn't doing so great, she had a fever last night and it has lasted till tonight it is now 102 but last night it was 105.5 the nurses have never seen a temp that high on that floor of the hospital and some of the nurses have been there for 12 years. She still has a bright red rash all over her body including her face and now semi bald head... I didn't realize how bad it would effect me... when I saw her with just a few more pieces of hair left I couldn't help it, I just started to sob and so did my lil brother Skyler, but everything is getting better, her temp is going down, dad brought her wig and lil cute hats, and I think that tonight they might actually get some sleep. they have probably had 30 min of sleep in 2 days ha ha. I have been talking to her through skype video, I haven't seen her in person for 8 days now!!! and Skyler hasn't seen her for 2 weeks!!! We miss her so bad, We are going to see sarah and mom on sunday! yay!!!!!!!!

Food... YUCK

2008-05-11T15:35:00.010-06:00

my back 3 days after surgery, a lot more bruising
my back 2nd day after surgery, 7 holes into the skin 3o0 in the hip bones

ok ha ha ummmm I decided to put the hip surgery pics back on, some people wanna see and some don't sorry for those that it grosses out ha ha ha

Hey everyone, I over did it yesterday causing myself to feel very sick!!! I feel a lot better now but I should have taken it easy after going through a big surgery like that... I should have listened to my grandmother:) She took such good care of me yesterday!!! I am still very sore and my lower back is one big purple bruise! We had to stay home today because My dad and lil bro are sick and I thought I was coming down with a lil something but I think it was just from not resting enough after my surgery. I really wanted to celebrate mothers day:( I feel so bad for my mommy, but we are going to celebrate it once were able to go back to the hospital... so maybe on wednesday. or thursday. Today is Sarah's last day of steroids, the reason she had to take steroids was so that they could keep infection away. She just got a transfusion of platelets, they are going to give her calories through her IV because she hasn't been eating... she lost 12 pounds in one day. She tried to eat mac and cheese today but couldn't because the chemo is effecting her taste buds causing all of her food to taste "really gross" other than that I guess it's just a waiting game again to see how her body takes my bone marrow.

*love you all*

DAY AFTER BONE MARROW TRANSPLANT

2008-05-09T14:06:00.003-06:00

MY SWEETY

Hey everyone, I got home around 8 last night... I was really sore. I didn't think that I would be this sore but Ill probably be better in another day or 2. My grandma is really sweet and came down here to take care of me:) When I woke up from anesthesia I was really groggy, I had to have oxygen because my oxygen level kept going down, I started to cry, and told the doctors that I was on a cell phone call with my sister ha ha I was mad when they woke me up! The dream was so comfortable and me and Sarah were back to normal:) after that, I cried some more... I guess the anesthesia makes me really emotional ha ha. During my surgery Sarah's lower back started to hurt and she had a hard time breathing, my mom didn't think about it at the time but when she saw me it hit her that we might have been having a little twin time while I was under anesthesia ha ha ha... me talking to sarah on the cell, Sarah's lower back hurting, problems breathing... I donoooo;)... could be possible... we did have the same dreams when we were little;)

Sarah is doing a lot better today, she was actually sleeping this morning!!! Last night she was in pain because there was so much liquid in her stomach. We kept telling them to give her lasix... that is what makes her urinate so that she is not in so much pain from all of the fluids they have been filling her up with. Also once my surgery was done they bagged my bone marrow and sent is up to sarah, they said that they got some great marrow and that it was very successful!!!;) They finished infusing the marrow around 7pm So now we are just trying to get through these next few weeks, they are finished giving her chemo but some of the effects will start in 7-14 days... such as mouth sores, loosing her hair, and getting ill. When she was sick these last few days it was most likely the ATG aka the horse antibodies that were killing off her white blood cells. She will still have to be isolated in the hospital for about another 4-6 weeks from any human contact other than the nurses and immediate family because the chemo and ATG has killed off her immune system so that she can have a fresh start in accepting my bone marrow.

SURGERY DAY

2008-05-08T05:02:00.000-06:00

Sarah's back to not feelin too well, her stomach hurts really bad, she is in pain all over, and she didn't get much sleep:(... but today is the surgery so everything will be great soon!!! it is now 5:06am, just 24 min. till my surgery:)

2008-05-07T20:16:00.001-06:00

BEAUTIFUL SARAH AND MOMMY!!!

ME AND MY SWEET BEAUTIFUL CLONE!!!

Its amazing she felt good enough to get up and take a shower, put her hoody on and put some makeup on... and this was only after 13 hours of her being a 10 in pain!!! She is so strong and beautiful! This is our pic we just took together!

WOOT WOOT

2008-05-07T18:10:00.000-06:00

lol pic from a few weeks ago-->

YAY!

Sarah is feeling a lot better now it’s 6:10pm!!! She’s actually consious of everything that is going on now, SHE’S ALIVE SHE’S ALIVE ha ha ha!!! Oh and she’s actually eating something... She hasn’t had anything to eat for 2 days! One sad thing is that my dad is sick... probably from all of the stress, but now he can’t even come to see her until he gets better:( he is soooo sad! I will be home for the weekend after my surgery to recuperate then I will be back at the hospital to see Sarah again:)

PAIN 10

2008-05-07T15:50:00.000-06:00

before pic... she was really swollen and in a lot of pain:(

Sarah's temp started to go down this morning at 12:00 so I decided I better go get some rest at a house next to the hospital that one of my dads friends is letting us stay in... I would try to sleep at the hospital but only one person can and that is my mommy:) When I woke up this morning I called my mom to get an update, she told me that it was the worst night yet, her temp went back up to 105, she broke out in a rash, and got rigers again but worse than last time. It is 2:50pm right now and she just broke out in another rash. They always ask her what she would rate her pain at on a scale from 1 to 10... when she got her first dose of chemo, she wasn't really in any pain yet. As the days went by she rated her pain at about a 6 then 2 nights ago a 8, then last night a 10!!! She is being so strong though. TOMORROW MY SURGERY YAY!!! we will start the marrow transplant tomorrow!

15 minutes to midnight

2008-05-07T00:45:00.000-06:00

Sarah's temp just went up to 105.1 they are trying to bring it down, they still have not given her last dose of chemo because of all of the other drugs they are putting into her.

Tuesdays update

2008-05-06T18:28:00.000-06:00

Last night was pretty scary, sarah had what they call RIGERS... that is when your whole body has a reaction to the immunosuppressive drug, she was very cold, shaking uncontrollably, muscles tensing causing a lot of pain.

The immunosuppressive drug Prevents the rejection of transplanted organs and tissues. It kills her immune system so that her body can accept my bone marrow. The immunosuppressive drug is called ATG which is an antibody from a horse.

ATG:They take a humans white blood cells, inject them into a horse, the horse generates antibodies to kill off the white blood cells, they take the horses blood, filter out the antibodies, put them in a bottle and name it ATG ha ha ha and then they inject it into sarah, killing off her white blood cells... no wonder it looked like she was on her death bed... because they are killing off apart of her in order for her body to accept something new!!! This is all so crazy. She also gained 15 pounds in 3 days, then she lost 6 pounds today. Quote from sarah: "I feel like I'm doing something wrong"... We keep trying to tell her that she is being very strong and that she can't control the reactions her body is having from the chemo and immunosuppressive drugs.

Sarah is on her last dose of the ATG and will get her last dose of chemo probably within the hour. Then tomorrow is her rest day!!! yay, maybe her and mom can get some rest now... some people think that when you go to the hospital your able to get some rest... this is the last place you can rest ha ha.

Another thing that happened today: Some of my dads friends Ray Gunn and his wife came to the hospital and gave Sarah and I a blessing:):):) it was so beautiful and they are the sweetest people. Anyways just thought I would give a quick update.

*Love you all*

sorry it's been so long since the last update

2008-05-02T20:54:00.000-06:00

I am sooooo sorry it has been so long since I have updated the blog!!! As you could imagine it has been quite hectic and I never thought I could be so exhausted. I had been running around trying to get everything handled before Sarah went in for chemo... it came so slow and fast at the same time, it was a waiting game at first and Sarah and I are very impatient... I guess that’s one of the lessons all of this is teaching us! Any who we have all been keeping high spirits with the occasional cry. We brought her in yesterday, she started her first dose of chemo, and pumping her with tons of different drugs that cause different side effects... I could have never imagined what this would feel like... it's like a whole new emotion that does not have a name yet. I am sitting next to her right now with my mom, dad, and little brother, I keep getting distracted with all the nurses coming in every 15 minutes so sorry if this update doesn’t make sense in certain places... Sarah just had a panic attack and started to cry, her body was reacting to the drugs they have her on... I can’t stand when she cry’s... I couldn’t stop crying until she did. She has been sleeping a lot, I am just thankful that she is not in a lot of pain and hopefully she wont be these next few days. They are about to set her up with her next dose of chemo... I will try to update again as to anything new that happens.

p.s. We would like to thank our family, friends and coworkers for everything they have done!!! It really does mean a lot! On tuesday and saturday I went to auction with my dad and helped him out a little bit at the car lot, it has been so wonderful seeing everyone and everyone has been so supportive and loving!!! It is amazing how full your heart can feel!!!’ thank you all sooooooo much from the bottom of all of our hearts!

HAIRCUTS!!!

2008-04-20T16:37:00.001-06:00

Today Larry our grandmothers hairstylist came by to cut Sarah's hair before she goes in for chemo which should be may 1st. I was just suppose to get a trim but then I decided to get the same hair cut. In order to donate your hair to locks of love, you have to donate at least 10 inches... Sarah and I donated 15 inches!!! I cried of course ha ha it took a while to get used to but now we love it:)

Tomorrow I go in so they can take the first pint of blood, after that I will wait a week so they can take another pint, then wait another week for my surgery. The reason for taking 2 pints of my blood is so that they can put my own blood back into me after the surgery. They will be taking about 2 pints of marrow and blood combined.

INFERTILE

2008-04-19T14:27:00.000-06:00

Once again things have changed, instead of the low dose of chemo the doctors have recommended that sarah go through the higher dose so it kills off the pnh and aplastic anemia. She will still have a high chance of becoming infertile but there is also another great benefit of being a twin!!! We have the same DNA and eggs so she would still be able to have a baby through me and it would still be the same genetic process as if she were to use her own eggs.

PNH

2008-04-17T16:40:00.000-06:00

Hello everyone, guess what… more news, and this was only 1 day after my last post but I have been so busy it’s hard to update as quickly as I should:) On Monday, we received a call from the LDS hospital that they had found something positive in Sarah’s blood. They did not want to explain over the phone so my family went to the hospital and met with the doctors. They explained that they found out what had caused the Aplastic Anemia, it’s called… Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria or P.N.H. another rare disease. It's a deformity of the red blood cells. So Sarah has two rare diseases now… 3 out of 1 million get Aplastic Anemia, and 1 out of 1 million get pnh.

Finding out what caused the Aplastic Anemia has changed everything! They gave her a choice to kill the pnh off completely with a strong dose of chemo or to do a low dose of chemo. She chose the low dose, the reason for her choice is that if she were to choose the high dose she would become infertile… it has always been a dream of hers to have a baby girl named cloe. With the low dose she will still loose her long beautiful hair(we all cried on that one) she will still have pnh and will have to be tested every six months to see if the pnh has grown, if so then they would have to do the higher dose of chemo.

We think that she will be admitted into the hospital by May 1st but you never know when things are going to happen with these rare diseases so you can’t really plan. When they do admit her into the hospital they will start chemo. In my previous posts I stated that she had to use a wheelchair, which was because she was so weak. She is still weak but now she is able to walk in the house and hospital to get a little exercise so that once this is over she will still be able to function normally. She might even have some sort of exercise equipment in her room.

Another thing that has changed is the way they will do the transplant. They were going to hook up an IV to both of my arms and filter the bone marrow out of my blood, since they have found that she has pnh they will have to take more bone marrow. I will go into surgery where they will perform a procedure they call the “bone marrow harvest” I will be placed under general anesthesia, the skin over the iliac crest will be cleaned and prepared for the harvest ha ha! Then a needle will be inserted through the skin into the marrow of the iliac crest. The marrow is removed and then filtered to remove any bone particles or debris. There will be 2-4 external punctures on my back, but there will be approximately 200 punctures into the bone under my skin. The harvesting procedure is approximately 1 ½ hours.

We have been sad and happy, cried and laughed so many times throughout this whole experience, we have learned when going through something like this you have to embrace the stages and emotions as they come or you can’t move on and see what is really there… A beautiful strong spirit that is teaching all of us what is important in life. I see this world so differently now, I will never pass up an opportunity to help someone in need, I enjoy and appreciate everyday things more and more… I enjoy going to Wal-mart!!!;) … Sarah would love to go to Wal-mart:) but is unable to because she might get sick. It is amazing what we take for granted.

UPDATE!!!

2008-04-13T21:30:00.000-06:00

Hey all sorry it took me so long to post another update:) We have been doing pretty good, of course there are going to be your ups and downs due to the fact that our lives have changed drastically in the past two weeks, but we are staying strong, positive and united as a loving family. On Wednesday we took Sarah to get her Trifusion catheter put in. I'm not a doctor but I'll explain it as best as I can. They place a tube inside of the neck through the internal jugular, then they go down to the aorta to just the tip of the heart. After the procedure they asked her to move on to her bed, once she laid down her heart rate went up to 149. They told her to get back on the table so they could move the tube further away from her heart. The tube was “tickling her heart” after they finished we had to stay in the hospital for 2 more hours so they could keep an eye on her. The 3 tubes come out of the right side of her chest where they can easily access blood and also do blood and platelet transfusions! It was hard for her at first because of the pain, she could not get a good nights rest and she could not relax in the shower with all of the saran wrap she had to cover it with, but it’s great that they don't have to poke her with needles every day. We still make our daily trip to the hospital so they can check her stats to see if she might need a transfusion. There have been a few Platelet transfusions, her counts are down and she has been feeling very weak and out of breath so she will probably get a blood transfusion soon.

Another GREAT thing that happened this weekend!!! My mom and dad went to the Utah Public Auto Auction where they put on a fund raiser for our family. They expressed that it was the most amazing event they have ever experienced. We are all so appreciative for all the help and love that the dealers, ownership, management, auctioneer, ring men, staff, and customers have blessed us with… thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

We would also like to thank Dr. Blatter the surgeon, the nurses that helped during the procedure: Dan, Tory, and Chris and the RN Shauna… she took very good care of Sarah and was very sweet:) Also the phlebotomist Jared, that takes Sarah’s blood whenever we go to the LDS hospital, Ladee our case worker, Dr. Finn Bo Peterson one of the three doctors over the bone marrow transplant center, and all of the wonderful nurses at the American Fork infusion center.

Sarah’s Bone Marrow Disease

2008-04-06T00:11:00.000-06:00

My name is Chelsea and I am going to give you a quick overview and diagnosis details of what has been going on in the past few weeks. My twin sis Sarah had major headaches for around a month, bruises all over her body, she felt extremely weak and was very pale and yellow. She set up a doctor’s appointment for herself on Monday, on Tuesday we get a call at 9:00am from the doc. telling her to go straight to Utah Valley hospital in Provo. He said that he had a room already set up for her and a team of doctors. This was very scary! We get to the hospital... they tell us that her body is not producing red blood cells, white blood cell(that fight off infection), or platelets(that clot blood)! They didn't know why so they started a blood transfusion, because her body didn't have nearly enough blood to stay alive. The nurses kept saying "I can't believe your still alive" she was most likely going to die if she did not get the blood transfusion. In the mean time they proceeded to run all of these tests, including a brain scan, chest x ray, heart x ray, spleen ultrasound, tons and tons of blood tests (her arms and hands look like blue and purple mountains) no one could come in to the room without a mask on and they restricted visitors because if she were to get even a common cold it would be deadly. Finally they did a bone marrow test where they had to dig in to her bone through her hip with this tool that moved her whole body back and forth as the doctor twisted this tool into her bone to get a sample. They did not knock her out, they just shot her up with morphine and numbed it... it was the most cringing horrible thing I have ever seen in my life! We were all crying and praying to god that they would get a sample already! They usually have to do it once but with Sarah they couldn't get through her bone so they had to go in 2 times on her left hip and 3 on her right. The doc. said she had the strongest bones he has ever seen ha ha ha. They got those tests back and after 2 days of this, they finally found out what it was... "Very Severe Aplastic Anemia" and me being her twin sis, I get to be the donor!!! woot woot I get to save my sis, this is a very rare disease. It is even more rare that it is a twin scenario. Most people who have aplastic anemia have to go through chemo but since we are twins there is less of a chance for her body to reject my bone marrow. So she just has to take some medication that will kill her immune system and bone marrow completely, and then they will transplant my bone marrow into her;) They have to give me some medication to build more bone marrow in my system so that it will spill out into my blood stream. My bones will ache from producing so much bone marrow. After that they will put an I.V. in both of my arms, one sucking out my blood and filtering the bone marrow out and then pumping the blood back into my system through the other arm. Awesome hu!!! I am the happiest person alive right now!!! I thought I was going to loose her… my best friend, my other half, and complete heart!!! I couldn’t describe the horrible feelings this experience has brought, but it has been an eye opening experience and I am grateful for everything I have!!! Sarah will probably be going through procedures, healing, and building her immune system for the next 6-12 months. It will take 10 days to two weeks to prepare her body and do the necessary things for the procedure. They also know that she needs that time to spend with family and friends before she has to stay in the hospital for 6-7 weeks. For the procedure we are going to the Salt Lake LDS hospital where they specialize in bone marrow transplants. For the 2 weeks before the procedure, she will be staying home where we will have to disinfect the whole house, and make sure that anyone who comes over is healthy and disinfects their hands because she still does not have an immune system and will get deathly ill from any germs. She is still very weak and has to stay in bed every day,(she try's to get up and wonder around once in a while ha ha) When ever we go to the hospital she has to use a wheelchair and wear a mask. We are going to the American fork hospital every day because they are closer, where they will check stats and do transfusions if needed. They are wonderful at the LDS salt lake hospital, I wish we were closer. Other than that I don’t really know what is going to happen from here but I will keep you all posted;) keep Sarah in your prayers, and thanks to all my friends and family that have been helping us through this experience. It really has meant a lot to us and we appreciate it more than you know;) The whole family would love to hear from you so feel free to leave a comment on this page:) ((to leave a comment just go to the bottom of the page and click on the comment link to the left of the picture of the little pencil.)) You can also post any questions as well. Bellow are some details of what Aplastic Anemia is. The fallowing information might be a little different for twins, if you would like to know more about aplastic anemia twin cases just go to Google and type in twin aplastic anemia.....

marrow.org provided the fallowing info, here is the direct link: www. marrow. org/PATIENT/Undrstnd_Disease_Treat/Lrn_about_Disease/Aplastic_Anemia/index. html

Aplastic Anemia (Severe)
Aplastic anemia is a disease of the bone marrow. The bone marrow stops making enough red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets for the body. Any blood cells the marrow does make are normal, but there are not enough of them. Aplastic anemia can be moderate, severe or very severe. People with severe or very severe aplastic anemia are at risk for life-threatening infections or bleeding.

Aplastic anemia is a rare disease. About 3 out of every 1 million people in the United States get aplastic anemia each year. The disease appears more often in eastern Asian countries, where it affects about 15 out of every 1 million people. It can affect people of any age.

Causes:
The bone marrow produces all of the blood cells for the body:
Red blood cells carry oxygen to all parts of your body.
White blood cells help the body fight infection.
Platelets help control bleeding.

Each blood cell lives only a certain number of days, so the body needs a steady supply. Healthy bone marrow is always making new blood cells. However, in aplastic anemia, the marrow makes a much smaller number than normal of all three types of blood cells. In very severe cases, the marrow can stop making any blood cells at all.

In most cases, doctors do not know the cause of aplastic anemia. In about 20% of patients, the disease develops from an inherited disorder, such as Fanconi anemia. Aplastic anemia may also be caused by high doses of radiation or certain chemicals or viruses. There is evidence that in many people aplastic anemia is an autoimmune disease. This means that the body's immune system is reacting against itself. The immune system attacks the bone marrow and stops it from making enough blood cells.