How blood helped keep them alive...

Healing and Growing: Savanah's Story

Shortly after her second birthday, Savanah began making frequent trips to her mother's room at night, complaining that her tummy ached. Her mother, Carine, wondered if the tummy aches weren't actually Savanah's attempt to gain a little extra attention. Carine did think it strange, however, that when Savanah said her tummy hurt, she was pointing or pulling on her chest and not her "tummy."

David and his mother Aimee play at Ronald McDonald House in Palo Alto

Savanah

Savanah's complaints persisted and one night, Carine placed her hand on Savanah's torso and was surprised about how hot it was, even though Savannah did not have a fever.

Carine decided to bring Savanah in to her pediatrician for a checkup. The routine blood tests and examination revealed nothing. Despite the test results, Savanah's doctor was very concerned about Savanah's swollen and warm abdomen and ordered a CT scan. The scan clearly showed a mass in Savanah's tiny body. She was quickly admitted to a local hospital where a bone marrow and other tests revealed that Savanah suffered from neuroblastoma — a rare cancer that usually affects very young children.

Savanah's family was devastated by the news, and scrambled to bring her up to Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford from their home in Bakersfield. Since arriving in September 2006, the family has stayed at Ronald McDonald House (RMDH) while Savanah receives treatment. "The House has become our second home," remarks Carine. While at RMDH, Savanah has charmed many with her bright smile and cheerful personality. "Savanah's a very outgoing and talkative little girl. She's grown so much and has come so far," adds Carine.

Savanah's initial treatment consisted of several months of chemotherapy intended to shrink the 15 cm wide tumor growing inside her tiny body. To counteract the damaging effects of the intense chemotherapy, Savanah received many life-saving blood transfusions that bolstered her weak blood supply. "I'm so very grateful for the blood that helped Savanah. If there were no blood donors, I doubt Savanah would still be with us," says Carine.

Finally, in January 2007, chemotherapy had shrunk the tumor in Savanah's abdomen from 15 to 7 cm. Surgery was scheduled and a team of doctors operated for hours to remove the mass. Savanah's doctor is optimistic that the operation was successful. Despite the surgery, Savanah must still endure yet another difficult treatment. This March, Savanah will undergo a stem cell transplant at LPCH — a procedure that will require a lengthy hospital stay followed by a 100-day isolation period at RMDH. This treatment will almost certainly require additional transfusions of blood.

David's Story

David and his mother Aimee play at Ronald McDonald House in Palo Alto

Two-year-old David McNally, a bright and energetic toddler, was diagnosed shortly before his first birthday with Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (WAS), a rare disorder of the immune system. WAS results in abnormal functioning of the cells that fight off infections, and causes the body to produce defective platelets, leaving David susceptible to infections and bleeding.

At one-and-a-half-years, David suffered a severe brain hemmorhage resulting from a trampoline accident. Several platelet transfusions were required in order to stop the internal bleeding. "Simply put, donated platelets saved David's life," explains his mother, Aimee.

In an effort to repair his damaged immune system, David received a bone marrow transplant at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital in August 2006. As part of his treatment, David received numerous blood products while recovering from the procedure. His parents kept a constant vigil during the difficult 40 day stay in the hospital—a physically and emotionally exhausting labor of love.

Once well enough to leave the hosptial, David and his mother began their post-transplant 100 day stay at Ronald McDonald House. He and his mother shared a suite at the house's Immune Garden Wing—a specialized area designed to keep children receiving treatment for diseases that affect the immune system healthy while they recover.

In addition to providing a clean environment where David can regain his strength, Ronald McDonald House also offers David and his mom more "living room." David takes full advantage of the house's spacious indoor and outdoor play areas, and is happy to have other children to play with. Aimee especially enjoys being able to cook their own meals and connect with other families staying at the house. For Aimee, Ronald McDonald House has provided a much-needed supportive community that she is convinced contributes to David's recovery and her own sense of well-being. "Here at the house, we all have each other to rely upon and share our experiences with. This support is instrumental, especially given that most of us only see other members of our family on weekends."

According to his mother, David is doing just fine and acting more like a toddler everyday. The two look forward to returning home sometime in January 2007.

Meghan underwent daily plasma exchanges during treatment.

Meghan's Story

Meghan was completely dependent upon machines for her survival...

She had a rare and life-threatening blood disease known as TTP/HUS (Thrombotic

Thrombocytopenic Purpura or Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome). This meant she was bleeding internally. The disease destroyed her red blood cells, and shards of the cells ended up in her plasma, consequently clogging her kidneys. She needed daily plasma exchanges.

Meghan in Santa Barbara after her recovery.

The plasma pheresis treatments she received took an average of an hour and a half a day, and she used an estimated 17 units of donated plasma each day she was in the hospital. She also endured rounds of chemotherapy and numerous blood transfusions. She received 987 units of blood products.

"Thanks to my family's tremendous love and support, my friends' constant encouragement, and the many anonymous donors whose blood saved my life, I was able to graduate from college with my class despite taking a semester off," Meghan said. Currently, she works full-time and is not hindered by any remaining effects of her illness.

"If 987 strangers had not donated blood, my story would be a different one. We are all so thankful that it was there for me."

Damian

Damian's Story

Matt is a member of the U.S. Armed Services and is stationed in Okinawa, Japan. When his son, Damian, needed surgery they came to Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. Matt and his wife, Meelee, stayed at the Ronald McDonald House while Damian had a Kasai operation, a surgical procedure that creates a drainage system for bile by connecting the intestine directly to the liver. It is used for an abnormality called biliary atresia in which some or all of the normal bile drainage system is absent. Weighing only seven pounds, Damian used two units of blood during the life-saving operation. “It was nice to know that the blood was there,” said Matt.

“Without blood transfusions, he would not have been able to pull through,” Meelee said. “It saved his life.”

Ashley

Ashley's Story

You would never know by looking at Ashley that just a year prior she’d had a kidney transplant operation that saved her life. Ashley had been on dialysis for three years before the call came that a kidney was available. Type-O blood transfusions helped her get through the surgery and a one-hundred-day stay at the Ronald McDonald House kept her near Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital for treatment while she recovered. Ashley’s dad, Jay, is a regular blood donor, and is grateful to all those who have helped Ashley get healthy again.

Lexie and Mom

Lexie's Story

At only 5-months-old, Lexie needed six units of blood during a nine-hour liver transplant operation that saved her life. Doctors at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital expect Lexie to grow up healthy and happy thanks, in part, to the blood donors that saved her life. "Both the family that donated an organ and the people who donated blood saved her life," explained her mother, Wendy.

Ron

Ron's Story

Ron needed hundreds of units of blood to stay alive during his successful battle with leukemia at Stanford Hospital. In October 2000, Ron underwent a bone marrow transplant (BMT) and had to be hospitalized and kept in a quarantined room for two-months. Ron received many platelet transfusions. "I never knew it took so much blood to keep people alive in the BMT area. It's staggering to know I was there for 10 months getting blood products, sometimes daily."