Susan Fister
Life is going well. “I had my five year remission on January 12 and my husband and I celebrated our 30 year wedding anniversary the same day. Every day is a gift from God and no matter what the day brings I have so much to be thankful for just being here,” said Fister.
In 2004, when two bone marrow transplants failed to treat her cancer, she received a cord blood stem cell transplant. At the time of her diagnosis, her sons were ages 18 and 21 respectively. Since that time, she has returned to work, her sons have graduated from college, and she has had no leukemia recurrence.
Fister’s health has changed for the better in other ways as well. When she tore a ligament in her knee, her doctor was surprised to see how fast it healed after surgery. She barely has a scar at all.
“Thanks to the ‘baby blood,’” as she refers to it, “when I get a cut, I heal faster now,” she said.
Like other cord blood stem cell recipients, she had to get her baby vaccinations all over again. “You can’t help but wonder if there’s a fountain of youth.”
“I find that what is being accomplished in Cleveland at CCBC to be life changing,” she said. “I wish that more mothers knew what a difference their gift at the time of birth means to so many of us. Through the miracle of a new life, I received new life!”