Gord Kaster of Wingham and Wroxeter missed his granddaughter Shelby's first birthday, and vowed he would never miss another. She turns 21 on Jan. 28, and so far, he's lived up to his word.
What's remarkable about the story is he missed that first birthday in 1992 because he was in the hospital, with a rare medical condition that usually killed its victims within a year at that time. Thanks to a very special gift from his daughter Stephanie, a doctor who was willing to bend the rules a bit, and his own positive attitude, Gord beat the odds. And the community is grateful.
As described in the original story by Margaret Stapleton of the Wingham Advance-Times, in April 1992, Gord was 46 years old when he became ill. At first, symptoms were vague – tiredness, persistent cough, short of breath and sore throat. His doctor prescribed antibiotics, but he kept get worse until a simple walk up his apartment steps left him exhausted. His wife Leone and daughter Stephanie Schmalz took him to the hospital in Wingham, where a simple blood test showed his blood count was almost nil. He needed a blood transfusion right away – the first of many, as it turned out. He eventually received almost 100 units of blood.
“They thought I had leukemia,” he said. An attempt to draw bone marrow for testing failed – they couldn't find any – and he was on his way to University Hospital in London amidst fears he might not even survive the ambulance trip. He did, and soon underwent another bone marrow aspiration. This one was more successful, and the sample was sent to the Mayo Clinic. The experts there diagnosed myelofibrosis, described on the Mayo Clinic's website as a chronic form of leukemia in which fibrous tissue replaces blood-cell-producing marrow.
“It's a rare disease,” said Gord. “I was only the third or fourth one in the area.”
There was only one effective treatment, a bone marrow transplant. In Gord's case, there were a number of obstacles to overcome before that could happen. First, he was a very sick man and at age 47, was two years older than the limit for a transplant (45 at that time). Second, the best match for a transplant is a sibling, but Gord was adopted and had no siblings that he knew of. Third, everyone with myelofibrosis at that time died within the year anyway.
Dr. Kang Howson-Jan agreed to go ahead with the procedure despite the age limit. And it turned out the only blood relative Gord had, his daughter Stephanie, then 21, was a perfect match. Despite her fear of needles, she was eager to go ahead with the procedure to help her dad....please read more in this weeks Wingham Advance Times