Hello!
My name is Felix Hofman and I am asking you to help my mother, Marina Hofman,
who is 49 years old. We live in St. Petersburg.
In April 2010 my mother began to feel bad and went to a doctor. A blood
test showed that the concentration of leukocytes exceeds the norm tenfolds.
On that same day my mother was admitted to hospital. The doctors diagnosed
her with a terrible disease - acute myeloblastic leukemia (M4 FAB type).
My mother has been staying in the Aleksandrovsky hospital since April.
During all this time she has been administered four chemotherapy courses,
and each one of them was very hard on her. The second course led to a
remission, but later on the number of blasts rose again, thus questioning
the effectiveness of this treatment scheme for my mother.
Her doctor as well as doctors of the Raisa Gorbacheva Institute of
Children's Hematology and Transplantology all believe that the only
thing that can help her is a donor bone marrow transplantation.
The few relatives that we have did not match her as donors, which
means that we have to look for a transplant in the international
registry and deliver it to St. Petersburg. That costs 17,500 euros.
This sum is unthinkable for us.
The company that my mother had worked for went bankrupt in 2008 and
she has not been able to find a job with a decent salary since then -
it is hard to find a job when you are older than 45, even if you
have a 20-years' experience as a manager. I am a 4th year college
student. Although I have a part time job my monthly salary (10,000 roubles)
is hardly enough for living. Our family and friends try to help us as
much as they can but their funds are limited, and whatever we get from
them we spend on everyday needs and drugs.
My mother has brought me up alone and has always been my mother, my
father, my defender, my teacher and everything on earth for me. All
I have I owe to her alone, and it is so hard for me to see that I am
helpless in these circumstances. All I can do is ask people whom I
don't now at all to help us.
Please help a good person overcome this awful malady. My mother has
always been a decent person and coped with all her problems herself,
but not this time... I fear to think that her life might be over before
the dream of her life comes true: to see her grandchildren. Trust me:
she deserves a better life.
Update as of September 10, 2010.
Unfortunately, Marina had extensive relapse. After chemotherapy, she recovered with blasts in
her blood. Further treatment is under discussion.
Update as of November 14, 2010.
Unfortunately, Marina has not achieved remission yet.
A bone marrow donor was found, but for now discussions are
underway due to Marina's serious condition. If the donor agrees,
transplantation will take place.
Update as of December 9, 2010.
On December 6th Marina was hospitalized in R.Gorbacheva Children's
hematology and transplantation institute. She still did not achieve
remission and a bone marrow transplant remains the only feasible
treatment option. The transplantation is scheduled for December
22nd, and we are sincerely grateful to Morsch registry for providing
the transplant in advance of payment. Advita fund owns 10,000 euros
to the registry. Also, after the last cycle of chemotherapy,
Marina was diagnosed with Aspergillosis and prescribed Vfend.
Update as of January 17, 2011.
Transplantation took place according to schedule.
Donor's bone marrow engrafted but is not sufficiently
functional yet. Marina is still in cytopenia.
She has no blasts. Marina feels rather well, but
she is not yet stable. She still needs Vfend.
