Watch: An Alberta mom of twins battling leukemia is one step closer to getting her stem cell transplant. Su-Ling Goh has the update.
EDMONTON – After five months in hospital — for the most part, separated from her kids — Tammy McLash finally spent a few days at home and is now in Calgary for her stem cell transplant.
The Edmonton mother was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in August, and has since undergone four rounds of chemotherapy while waiting for a matching stem cell donor.
She has only been able to see her three-year-old twins, Adam and Madeline, for about 30 minutes a day, at most. Tammy was in isolation for much of December, missing both Christmas and the twins’ third birthday.
READ MORE: Alberta mother battling leukemia desperately searching for stem cell match
But she was finally strong enough to come home last week. That’s when the family celebrated both occasions.
“We chose one day to be their birthday and that was their birthday celebration and then this morning was Christmas,” says Mathew McLash, Tammy’s husband.
“They woke up with us, opened some presents and we had our Christmas, so it was really nice.”
“They now think that every time they get up, that they get presents,” Tammy adds with a laugh.
The couple called Global News Monday afternoon, on their way to Calgary, where Tammy will have her stem cell transplant. The couple will have to stay in Calgary for the next three months.
READ MORE: Alberta mother battling leukemia finds stem cell match
“It’s bittersweet because of course I’m excited about the transplant,” says Tammy, “but it is really hard to leave the kids.”
The search for a suitable donor seemed impossible at first. Both of Tammy’s siblings were not matches — neither was anyone in Canadian Blood Services’ OneMatch Stem Cell and Marrow Network.
After Tammy’s story aired on Global News in October 2014, OneMatch was flooded with calls from people who wanted to donate. The McLash family believes one of those people who registered is the one who will save Tammy’s life.
WATCH: Response to the McLash family’s story
“We don’t know anything about where this [donor] is from or who it is, but we know that it is a recent registration.”
The couple hopes more people will sign up with OneMatch to help the many patients they met in the hospital who are also waiting for a donor.
“So many people were waiting because their siblings weren’t matches or they were only children, so of course they need that world-wide bank of donors,” explains Tammy.
OneMatch has a swab drive on January 20 at several locations on the University of Alberta campus. Potential stem cell donors, between the ages of 17 and 35, can register on the spot with a simple cheek swab. Twenty-five volunteers are also needed to help run the event. To volunteer, click here or call Canadian Blood Services at 780-702-8824.
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