Mother Shares Experience With Cord Blood via Podcast
Tracy Mercier from Oxford, Massachusetts shared her experience with cord blood banking with The Better Chronicles, an online radio talk show hosted by Med Talk Network.
Her son Nicolas was diagnosed with leukemia at just 2 and a half years of age. He was a high risk leukemia patient and would have to undergo more than 2 years of chemotherapy. At the time, his parents were told that he would not need a stem cell transplant unless he relapsed.
Tracy became pregnant during his chemotherapy and the oncologist suggested banking the new baby’s cord blood. Tracy looked into the option of cord blood banking, even though she was unsure whether or not she would use the cord blood in the future.
At five-years-old, Nicolas relapsed and Tracy was relieved that she had made the decision to bank her new baby’s cord blood. However, there was only a 25% chance that Braydon would be a match, so Nicolas was started on chemotherapy while doctors determined if his cord blood would be of any benefit to his brother.
His appendix burst during chemotherapy, leaving him with an infection and making it difficult for the chemotherapy to take effect. Doctors suggested that cord blood would now present a better option with increased chances of survival – and luckily, his brothers cord blood unit turned out to be a match.
“Nick understands what Braydon did for him, and they’ll have that connection forever”, says Tracy.
Today, Nicolas is seven years old and will be starting first grade in the 2011-12 school year. His parents are relieved that they took the chance to bank their child’s cord blood, and Nicolas looks forward to a happy and healthy future.