Patient Stories

By Krista Thomas, Communications Strategist In early 2019, Kristi Trog and her husband Josh were thrilled but also surprised to find out that Kristi was pregnant with their first child. The pair counted this news as a true miracle. Though they knew that having a baby later in life would mean they needed to prepare themselves for a higher likelihood of complications, nothing could have prepared them for what would happen less than five months later. That same year in July, Kristi was going about an otherwise normal day, but she knew that something “felt off” with her pregnancy. She…

It’s hard to believe that for the bulk of 2019, Katy Crain knew very little about cancer. She considered herself lucky to have never had any close family members affected by it, and while she was sympathetic to cancer patients and had donated blood before, the concept seemed removed from her everyday life. All of this is hard to believe because, today, Katy can talk in extensive detail about different types of leukemia, about the treatment required — she could guide you through a model of the main types of cells that blood is made of and describe how the…

By Lia Adams, guest blogger, Milestone blood donor and plasma recipient Medical Background When I was a kid, we didn’t know I had a primary immune deficiency. All we knew was that I got sick more often than average, sometimes with unusual infections. Nothing life-threatening; I just took a lot more sick days from school than other kids. I developed skills for independently learning material from textbooks, as well as for bluffing my way through exams on material from lectures I missed. The times when I felt healthy were precious to me. Introduction to Blood Donation I grew up thinking of…

This summer, Stanford Blood Center (SBC) and LifeServe Blood Center brought together two very special heroes. Shanti Minkstein, a photographer from San Francisco, California, and Lance Becker, a banker from Des Moines, Iowa, joined a Zoom call to discuss their experiences as COVID-19 survivors. They had never met before, but they share a bond that will last a lifetime: Shanti donated COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) that may have saved Lance’s life. Both Shanti and Lance battled COVID-19, but their road to recovery took very different paths. After returning from a trip to Mexico, Shanti began experiencing mild symptoms and soon…

As first-time parents, Kylie De La O-Menard and her husband Guillaume Menard knew that there were many challenges they would have to work through as part of learning to care for a new baby — the exhaustion, the baby’s crying, the frequent nursing. Leading up to the birth of their son Knoll, however, these challenges came to look a lot different — and a lot more serious — than anyone had expected. It was December 6, 2019, five weeks before Knoll’s due date and Kylie’s last day of work before maternity leave. Though mothers can typically feel their babies moving…

When Teddy Oh was 18 months old, his mother and father, Won and Jin, knew something was not right. Teddy had had a persistent cough, and though his doctors did not think much of it at first, the cough was quickly compounded with additional symptoms, principally lethargy and distention of his stomach. A week after his symptoms had progressed, the family went back for a re-check with his pediatrician and was told immediately to take Teddy to the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford (LPCHS) emergency room. After running blood tests, doctors determined that Teddy’s white cells were highly elevated and…

In May of 2013, Nicole Porto was thriving in all aspects of life. She had built up a life for herself that she was proud of. Physically, she had been training for the Brooklyn Half Marathon and felt extremely strong; socially, she had a great group of friends in her home of New York; and professionally, she was chasing her dreams, working in marketing and social responsibility for a diamond company who prided themselves on giving back to the communities within Africa that mined precious metals and stones. In June of 2013, just weeks after an impressive finish in the…

When Rachel Ren* was a junior, she was thrilled at the opportunity to give blood at her high school’s SBC mobile drive. Rachel had never had an experience with blood donation before — never had a family member need blood that she could remember, never needed blood herself — but she felt called to help. On the day of the mobile, Rachel registered herself to donate, only to find out that she was deferred. Rachel and her family had just moved to the Cupertino area from China that year, and due to FDA regulations, she would be unable to donate for three…

HOW BLOOD DONORS SUPPORTED A 15-YEAR-OLD’S LIVE-SAVING OPEN-HEART SURGERY On October 4, 2014, Nick Farrell* was riding high celebrating a momentous occasion: his 15th birthday. One week later, on October 11, he was grappling with a very different life-altering event: a critical surgery to fix the large hole in his heart. Though Nick and his mother Elaine were terrified at what could happen should their last resort procedure fail, thanks to the medical team at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford and the generosity of local blood donors, Nick’s successful operation gave cause for celebration once again. Approximately one month prior…

Mother’s Day was this past weekend, and we hope you enjoyed your time with the mothers in your life! Although the day may have passed, we want to continue to appreciate moms all over by taking a moment to celebrate some of the mothers touched by blood donation that we have had the privilege to get to know over the years. Alicia was diagnosed with placenta accreta, a serious condition where the placenta invades and becomes inseparable from the uterine wall, at 30 weeks pregnant with her second child. 20 doctors from various specialties came together to perform a complex C-section…

Every year, 15,780 children in the United States are diagnosed with cancer. In fact, according to Children’s Cancer Research Fund, each day, 43 families in the United States will hear that their child has cancer. That’s why we observe September as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month – to increase awareness for types of cancer that affect children, and honor those who have been touched by this disease. In the face of statistics like these, it is easy to feel helpless. But there are plenty of ways you can help, even just through Stanford Blood Center: Donate your points back to Leukemia…

Mr. Manmohan (Mohan) Mahal claims it has taken him over twenty years to understand his “journey.” It is because of this journey that he is now driven to give back to the world and inspire others. But first, he needed a change of heart. Born in Amritsar, India, Mohan lived most of his life in New Delhi and moved to the US in 1972, where he then studied mechanical and nuclear engineering at UC Berkeley. After graduating, he started to work in Silicon Valley at a very stressful, high-pressure job managing 40 people. “I told myself during this time, this must be what life is…

Robin Beresford has many goals, most of which surround helping others. She is a former nurse, a licensed physician’s assistant, a marriage and family therapist, and is in the process of completing her PhD in Depth Psychology. So several years ago it came as a shock when Robin was the one who needed help. This is Robin’s SBC story. Robin had always been in good health and loved to go on daily runs. But one day these runs became very difficult – Robin could feel her heart was beating too fast, despite her steady pace. Her first thought was that…

The placenta is an organ essential to nourishing a baby in utero. But for 1 in 333 pregnant women, it can cause a life-threatening complication, placenta accreta, that could lead to fatal hemorrhaging during delivery… as was the case for Alisha Keller-Berry. 19 weeks into her second pregnancy, Alisha received some troubling news. During a routine ultrasound, doctors saw signs of a condition called placenta accreta, where the placenta attaches to deeply into the wall of the uterus. Unfortunately, they could not confirm the diagnosis for another ten weeks. In the interim, Alisha was put on bed rest and told…

Kelvin Yu thought it was just an ordinary day. He went to his job as a Project Manager at Kaiser Engineers, left his office, and set out for a lunchtime walk around Lake Merritt. He had no idea that within hours, he would end up in the ICU. He had no idea that this was the beginning of what he would one day refer to as his “second life.” On that fateful day in March 1996, Kelvin started to feel faint during his light stroll. Once he returned to his office, he began to vomit blood… a whole garbage can’s…

The adventure began soon after their meeting. Carmela and Eric Gries met in 1984 while attending college. Not long after they met and became a couple, they decided to take a year off from school to drive across the country and back. They’ve now been married for 31 years, have three beautiful children, and are embracing life to its fullest. And though the journey to get here was a difficult one, Carmela and Eric have always believed that when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade – and that’s exactly what they did after learning that Carmela needed a heart transplant.

Magdalena Cabrera knows what it’s like to be on both sides of the equation. She began donating blood with Stanford Blood Center in 1980. She did so knowing the importance of donating blood products when suddenly the tables turned in May 2013 when she was diagnosed with a very rare form of cancer called Mucosal Melanoma. One in 25 million people have it. In February 2013, she noticed she was feeling very congested and had trouble sleeping because of it. She tried various over the counter medications and nothing seemed to ease the symptoms. After dealing with this for almost…

As girls growing up in Menlo Park, Betsy McBride and her sister used to accompany their father when he donated blood at Stanford Blood Center (SBC). Betsy took the habit to heart, continuing to donate for SBC when she could. But until August 26, she had no idea how much blood donors would one day mean to her personally. On that day, Betsy and her husband Steve, parents of two precious children – strawberry-blonde Ashlyn and curly-haired Austin – received news that no parents should have to hear. Their little boy, Austin, just three years old at the time, had…

Galen “G” Dahl, 13, is much like any other 7th grader. He loves skiing, math, jumping on his trampoline, video games and his dog, Flash. He is a self-confessed Harry Potter fanatic who enjoys hanging out with his buddies. One would never know just by looking at him that underneath the shirt he wore to school he bares a large scar from a heart transplant performed eleven years ago. His mom, Jade, will never forget the day they took G to urgent care with what the family thought were symptoms of a virus. G had been feeling under the weather,…

By Kristin Stankus, digital community and social media specialist         Kendralyn and Cole Morley knew from an early age that they wanted to spend their lives together. Now, 24 years old, Kendralyn and Cole have been friends since they were seven. Both grew up with a passion for hockey and played on the same coed team for several years. Theirs is a great love story, sprinkled with difficult challenges and pain, but with a happy ending. Cole’s Story When Cole was ten, he started experiencing constant pain in his leg. His parents took him to see his…

In 2013, Michael, a recent high school graduate, was excited to start the next chapter in his life. He had applied to a trade school and looked forward to pursuing a career in welding when he came down with what he thought was a bad cold. Unfortunately, it turned out to be much more severe than a cold and, ultimately, Michael required a bone marrow transplant. After weeks of feeling ill, he finally went to the emergency room — but they just sent him home with no resolution. Two more visits to the emergency room led to the same diagnosis…

Susan attended this year’s Bone Marrow Transplant Reunion where she approached Stanford Blood Center’s information table and asked if she could share her story of survival with blood donors through SBC’s patient stories program. Susan’s story is one of incredible challenges and her will to overcome them. She is a 25-year survivor of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and is now in good health, but certainly faced many challenges to get here. Susan was just 22 year’s old when she identified an inflamed lymph node in her groin area. Never being a fan of doctor’s, she waited it out to see if it…

There have been many great advances in medicine over the last few decades. Patients can take comfort in the fact that doctors have more information available to them now than ever before, resulting in an improved quality of patient care. Despite these advances, devastating conditions still occur, and some remain very difficult to treat. One such example is placenta accreta, a dangerous pregnancy related condition that can affect even a healthy woman. This was the case with Kristen Terlizzi, who was pregnant with her second child when she suffered complications of this devastating disorder. Placenta accreta, in its broader sense,…

Jen Julian, 57, might be the most active person you will ever meet. She golfs, skis, bikes, boats, scuba dives and regularly makes good use of her newly granted pilot’s license. She is without a doubt the epitome of what life can be when given a second chance. Jen was first diagnosed with interstitial lung disease in 1998 from a condition called chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis. Over the next eight years, her health deteriorated as her right lung failed, followed shortly by her left. Doctors warned a transplant was her only real chance to survive, as there is no cure for…

Motorcycle enthusiast Ryan Roberts usually did not ride his motorcycle to his job at Stanford Video. But back in 2004, the Fourth of July fell on a Sunday, and he was supposed to have that Monday off from work. He got called in last minute and was only going to be there for a little while, and with no traffic on the road, he decided to take his motorcycle. But it proved to be a devastating, life-altering day for Ryan. Traveling on the highway, Ryan thinks he must have hit something in the road that threw him off course enough to hit…

On June 10, 2014, after a long and complicated labor, baby Alma’s journey began. Her entrance into the world was not an easy one. Nearing the end of mother Amy’s pregnancy, doctors expressed concerns that the baby had stopped growing and determined that labor should be induced. A Pitocin IV drip was started but Alma still did not want to join the outside world. Doctors elected to help her out with the use of a vacuum suction, which left a cephalhematoma on her head, causing jaundice. But although the labor and delivery were challenging, Alma was a seemingly healthy 7…

On March 14, Luis Navarro’s daughters carefully took off his blindfold to reveal 50 of his closest friends and family. They were gathered for a surprise birthday party and blood drive to celebrate his 56th birthday. The surprise element wasn’t the only thing that made this birthday memorable: Luis and his family were also celebrating the recent liver transplant he had received from Stanford University Medical Center (SUMC). Two months earlier, while sitting in the waiting room while their father received one of his many blood transfusions after his transplant, Gabriela and Anais Navarro were feeling helpless because they thought…

Aria is a lively 17-month-old with an infectious smile. One would never guess that she was born an anemic preemie who spent the first month of her life in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital (LPCH). The odds were stacked against Aria from the beginning, given her mother, Jennifer’s complications with the pregnancy and delivery. Aria was delivered seven weeks early via an emergency cesarean section due to preeclampsia in mom, and Aria only weighed 3 pounds and 3 ounces at birth. At two months old, Aria received her first blood transfusion because she was unable to…

At Stanford Blood Center, part of our mission is to connect donors with patients and we enjoy sharing stories and messages of gratitude from blood recipients. Do you ever wonder how those patients are doing today? We’re happy to be able to share updates from three amazing young recipients. Brennah was seven years old when she and her older sister, McKendra, were involved in a head-on collision with a semi-trailer. As a result of the accident, Brennah had massive internal abdominal damage and a broken spine. A Life Flight helicopter transported Brennah to Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital for treatment, where…

Timena, whose name means ‘beautiful,’ in her native language, Samoan, is embarking on a mission to match her name. She wants to help ensure that the next time someone with her unusual blood type needs a transfusion, a donor will be ready. As a child, Timena was a sporty and energetic soccer devotee. But by age 12, persistent shortness of breath forced her to give up the sport she loves. By age 17, her concerned family took her to a doctor, as she was losing a lot of weight, and frequently seemed feverish. The doctor delivered surprising news: Timena likely had…

By Julie Peachey In November 2000, Dawn Billman, her husband, George, and their three young daughters were looking forward to a Thanksgiving weekend full of feasts, visits from out-of-town family, and a birthday celebration for grandma. But the day before the big holiday, Dawn received an unexpected call from Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital (LPCH). It was about Elle, her three-year-old who had been struggling with a chronic ear infection for over a month. It was unclear why rounds of antibiotics weren’t clearing things up so Elle’s doctor ordered a blood test. The results came back with a strong indication that…

Chris’s yearly family trip to Disneyland in February of 2012 took him far from the happiest place on earth as he found himself, instead, in the hospital. After experiencing nausea, shortness of breath, and difficulty walking distances, Chris was eventually diagnosed with an enlarged heart, which was pumping at 13%. He was soon transferred to Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. There, he received a pacemaker to correct arrhythmias, as well as a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) to help his failing heart function. Chris had some complications that required fresh plasma and over 24 liters of blood. “We are truly grateful…

By Deanna Bolio, Communications Specialist, Stanford Blood Center Lexi loves to dance. From hip-hop to ballet, she loves it so much that she might take up to 13 dance classes in a week. The ongoing blood transfusions Lexi receives to treat sickle cell anemia give her the energy she needs to leap, turn, and spin onstage. “Blood donors have blessed me to be able to do so many of my hobbies, such as dance and gymnastics,” Lexi says. “I can’t thank blood donors enough for helping me achieve my goals.” Lexi was diagnosed with sickle cell anemia as an infant….

By Winter Johnson, Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital and Michele Hyndman, Stanford Blood Center A month before her 14th birthday in November 2011, Taylor was enjoying a normal teenage life in Watsonville, Calif., when she was hit with sudden, flu-like symptoms that turned into vomiting blood. She was rushed to a local hospital and then taken by ambulance to Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, where blood tests and CT scans showed Taylor had end-stage kidney failure along with bleeding in her lungs. She was diagnosed with Goodpasture syndrome. “It’s an extremely rare and life-threatening autoimmune disease, and it happens to previously healthy people without warning,” said nephrologist Paul Grimm,…

On June 6, 2011, Melissa and her husband, Tim, and 3-year-old son, Flynn, welcomed twin boys, Keane and Hayes, into their family. Melissa’s pregnancy and delivery had been normal. The twins were healthy and together weighed over 14 pounds which is considered big for twins. After a typical recovery period, Melissa went home to care for her family. “To me, my family was perfect and complete,” she said.

Casey Rockey was born with supravalvular aortic stenosis, a rare heart condition that causes a narrowing of his aortic valve at the opening. He required beta blockers for a year to manage his stenosis and tachycardia and, at age three and a half, it was time for open-heart surgery.

In 1989, just six months after marrying my young bride, I was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. My wife and I were thrust into the world of cancer, and we watched our hopes and dreams shatter in an instant. At twenty-six years of age, I was told by doctors at the City of Hope National Medical Center that my prognosis was “poor.” But after nearly a year and a half of intensive chemotherapy, brain radiation, bone marrow biopsies and countless other procedures, I emerged on the other side of my disease, in remission and thankful for the blessing of each new day.

As Jennifer Flowers sat in a hospital bed on January 8, 2010, she would have much rather been on a beach on one of the tropical islands she preferred to frequent. Walking through the surf on a sandy beach in Hawaii, the Bahamas, Barbados, Antigua, Bermuda, or Jamaica during one of her vacations was her idea of living. But that day, she was receiving a bone marrow transplant at Stanford Hospital that would keep her alive.

Mike Wu was diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML) in January, 2003, after complain- ing to his doctor about persistent abdominal pain. It was one week before his wed- ding. He began taking a laundry list of prescribed medications that compromised his immune system; he lost about 30 pounds. He and his fiance, Jennifer, postponed the wedding so Mike could get better.

Pulmonary hypertension, overriding aorta, and pulmonary atresia are a few of the health obstacles in little Maddie’s life. She has undergone 11 procedures, including three open-heart surgeries, to correct her cardiovascular defects and has received the lifesaving gift of blood with each of her surgeries.

I will never forget how stunned I was when I got an email from Karen on March 5, 2009 to announce her son‘s arrival. It started “Quinn Frederick Bossow was born on Tuesday morning. Unfortunately, he is in extremely critical condition at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital.” I immediately visited the blog she had created to keep family and friends updated on his condition.