Inspiring transplant patients

Read about some of our patients' experiences with the Advocate Bone Marrow Transplant Program.

Right choice: "They made me feel like a person they really cared about."

Life is about choices

Lynne Grunthaner was 37 years old when she was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma at Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital.

The care she experienced during her time there encouraged Lynne to become a neonatal nurse at that very same hospital. She wanted to provide the same quality of care to patients she received during her stay.

But after working at Advocate for more than 20 years, Lynne started to feel like something was wrong with her body, again.

After two weeks of testing, Lynne received heartbreaking news.

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Miracle baby: A former transplant patient has a child on her own despite the odds.

A difficult decision

When Shamiram Konstantin looks into the eyes of her little baby girl, Nohra Grace, she sees a miracle. It reminds her of the best news she had ever heard – the news that she was carrying a baby.

At the age of 24, Shamiram faced a bone marrow transplant for aplastic anemia, an autoimmune disease. The college student chalked up her symptoms, like excessive tiredness and breathlessness, to her busy schedule. It wasn’t until a bruise on her arm failed to go away that she sought medical help.

Once diagnosed, multiple transfusions failed.

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Touch of love: A former patient donates blankets – and cheer.

Paying it forward with warmth

Business owner Jeffrey Pike received a successful bone marrow transplant at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in 2000.

On the anniversary of his procedure, he wanted to pay it forward by donating more than 300 blankets to our program. All of them were distributed to the patients in our inpatient unit and infusion center.

Over the past few years, Jeffrey has continued his kind gesture, bringing cheer to patients by donating nearly 600 blankets that he and his wife, Marilyn, make by hand.

He says that each of the blankets is “made with a touch of love knowing someone will be enjoying what we do.”

Positive mindset: Rosa has come a long way since that first night she learned she had cancer in her bones.

Rosa's gratitude

It was just a routine blood test! The doctor told me I had a very high level of protein and that in 99 percent of cases it was nothing to worry about. He wanted to make sure everything was okay so he referred me to an oncologist for a bone marrow biopsy. I could tell by the look on the oncologist’s face it was bad news. He said I had cancer in my bones.

The first night was very hard. I kept asking myself the question that pops into the minds of everyone facing it – why me? I never smoked, drank, and I did the right things for my body. Then I started to be grateful that it was me and not the people I love. Instead, they were going to be by my side, helping me during the most difficult moments. I started to feel better with those thoughts.

I worked full-time during my chemo treatment. My family, friends and coworkers were always with me. I also had the best health care team. When I had a stem cell transplant, I was in the hospital for two weeks. The nurses were incredibly compassionate. I feel so grateful for so many things. The desire to continue enjoying life, along with all the beautiful sunrises, has helped me in many ways.

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