Marrow--making a difference from both sides
BMJ 2003; 327 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/sbmj.0308296 (Published 01 August 2003) Cite this as: BMJ 2003;327:0308296
- Nadia Stock, third year medical student1,
- Ruth Pearson, fourth year medical student2
- 1University of Newcastle
- 2University of Leicester
DR GOPAL MURTI/SPL
I first heard of the Anthony Nolan Trust when, in the synagogue for the Jewish New Year, I found a leaflet on my seat advertising a bone marrow drive for a student with leukaemia. I recognised the picture instantly; Karen Morris had been my leader on summer camp several times, but only then did I first heard of her illness. At the time, I was too young to join the register, but when I started at Newcastle Medical School in 2000 and heard about Marrow, I knew I wanted to get involved. I joined the register, trained as a counsellor, and in October 2001 helped at my first clinic.
Facing the diagnosis
Roughly 12 months later, I was still trying to juggle my usual 101 extracurricular activities along with my degree, but I was feeling increasingly tired and unable to keep up. I even resorted to taking afternoon naps. When I complained to friends, they tried to convince me that this was perfectly normal behaviour for students, but I had not taken a nap since my second birthday, and I knew something was not right. I put off going to my general practitioner for several weeks--I told myself I was far too busy to be ill. A breathless weekend in Scotland, training with the mountain rescue service, finally pushed me.
My doctor took a blood test, and I telephoned to get the results a week later. I was pancytopenic. In days I had been referred to the haematology …
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