Man’s stem cell donation saves his sister’s life after cancer diagnosis
AMAN put his family first by stepping in to donate his stem cells to save his sister’s life following a heart-wrenching cancer diagnosis.
Rebecca Bridges, a 54-year-old former teacher from Penzance, found out she had acute myeloid leukaemia, an aggressive cancer affecting the myeloid cells in August 2020 after experiencing breathlessness, swollen joints and bleeding gums.
After undertaking two rounds of intensive chemotherapy, her doctors informed her that a stem cell transplant was necessary, as her bone marrow could no longer manufacture healthy blood cells. The best shot at finding a donor, they said, would come from a sibling.
Ollie Bridges, who is just a year younger than his sister and works in IT, immediately got himself tested and discovered he was a match. The transplant followed over a course of two days in January 2021, and owing to her brother’s selfless act, Rebecca has now won her cancer battle.
Rebecca said: “My brother is a year younger than me – we grew up very close. Like all siblings we scrapped like Tom and Jerry when we were little.”
She added that she was “very grateful” to her brother for his willingness to aid her in her time of need. Ollie said it was “horrifying” to learn of Rebecca’s diagnosis. carrying “One minute on their a life person as normal, you love the is next, a life-altering and potentially ending diagnosis lands. When I first heard that stem cells could help, it felt like there was hope. knowing “Finding that out I was the a test match results, was brilliant and news and felt like a path to recovery was being mapped – what everyone who goes to a doctor wants to know.”
In May 2020, Rebecca began expe
riencing unexplained fatigue, bleeding, breathlessness, which and she initially attributed to menopause. She then discovered some inexplicable, large bruises on her body.
Concerned by the persistence of her symptoms, Rebecca visited her local GP in August 2020. A nurse examined her and recommended a blood test due to her low blood oxygen levels.
Following the test, a doctor contacted her with concerns about ‘worrying indicators’ and instructed her to head to Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro.
Upon arrival at the hospital, she was isolated in a private room because she was prone to infection. A bone marrow biopsy conducted four days later confirmed that Rebecca had acute myeloid leukemia. “I was in utter shock,” she said. “I thought, Sod’s law I get it during the pandemic.”
Her primary concern was for her son. “My son, Uther, was 14 at the time and the biggest thing was I wanted to live to see him grow up as an independent adult,” she said. Rebecca spoke candidly about how she returned home for 10 days to spend time with her loved ones before starting her chemotherapy as an inpatient. Following two rounds of chemotherapy that spanned over 10 weeks in the hospital, Rebecca
said she got very ill. “I would shiver and shake – I felt freezing cold,” she said.
“I then spent a week at home between chemo, which was lovely as I got to spend my birthday at home. A week into my second round of chemo they told me I would need a stem cell transplant.”
In January 2021, Rebecca was relocated to Plymouth’s Derriford Hospital for a stem cell transplant. “They tested my two full siblings and my younger brother was a complete match. There was a huge amount of relief that there was no searching and waiting. I had a huge amount of gratitude for my brother.” Her brother Ollie said: “The donation process was simple, but it made me feel blessed to be in a world where our medical and scientific knowledge can take such a bad piece of news and fix it. Not only that but that our NHS, whilst struggling in many areas, really deals with these major, life-saving procedures so brilliantly.”
Ollie donated his stem cells during daytime hospital visits on January 14 and 15, 2021, and Rebecca underwent a two-day transplant procedure on January 19 and 20, 2021.
In February 2021, Rebecca was finally able to return home.
“It was the happiest day of my life, the treatment was so rough,” she said.
“It was like being tortured, the chemo is so strong for this cancer. I often thought I was going to die and never see my husband and son again.
“It was such a relief to get home to see them both.”