Photo courtesy of Andrew Brimmer

Against the odds, Brimmer donated marrow to sister

The odds were stacked.

The chance of Fresno State senior Andrew Brimmer̢۪s bone marrow matching his sister̢۪s was only 25 percent.

Brimmer̢۪s sister Megan Savile, 25, had been battling Non-Hodgkin̢۪s Lymphoblastic Lymphoma with rounds of intensive chemotherapy, but just when she thought she̢۪d beaten it, it was back full force.

Her only option left was a peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) transplant, and as her only sibling, Brimmer knew the chances of being her match were rather slim, but there was no doubt in his mind what he would do next.

“At Kaiser they took five vials of blood and then shipped it off to Stanford,â€Â said Brimmer, a business major. “It was definitely an intense few days; we had our fingers crossed.â€Â

Savile called several days later with the good news.

“She said the doctor told her we should go to Vegas because we’d hit the jackpot,â€Â Brimmer said. “She was so happy.â€Â

It had been tough staying in Fresno while his sister was undergoing treatment up at Stanford.

“My family was going through so much hell,â€Â Brimmer said. “I’d been thinking about taking a semester off to go up and be with them.

“So when I found out I was a match, it finally made me feel like I was doing something to help her out.â€Â

So off he went to the Stanford Cancer Center for the transplant, a process which took place over five days.

“Everybody there is so inviting,â€Â Brimmer said. “Here you’ve never met any of these people before, and they already know who you are and what you’re there for.â€Â

Brimmer was given a series of Neupogen shots—to increase the production of his stem cells—in preparation for the transplant.

“I got the first two shots on a Thursday, and I was fine at first,â€Â he said. “I got two more on Friday as well, and thought, this isn’t too bad. It burned a bit, but that was about it.â€Â

But when he woke up Saturday morning, something wasn̢۪t quite right.

“It felt like I’d slept wrong,â€Â Brimmer said. “There was this pain in my neck and lower back, where the stem cells are being produced.â€Â

The doctors at Stanford were pleased. “They get excited when they see you’re in pain because they know it’s working,â€Â Brimmer said.

But by the time Sunday rolled around, that discomfort was almost unbearable. “It got so bad, I was having trouble walking,â€Â he said. “Whenever I moved, there was this sharp pain, and it took awhile to subside.â€Â

The transplant procedure took place the following Monday; after a series of ten Neupogen shots, two per day, Brimmer was ready.

“They sit you down in a recliner and strap your arms down,â€Â he said. “Then they insert these needles, one in each arm.

“There’s this machine that sucks your blood out of one arm, extracts the stem cells, and then puts the blood back in through the other arm.â€Â

The whole process took about four hours; most of which Brimmer doesn̢۪t remember.

“I was pretty out of it,â€Â he said. “They give you this drug to relax you and get the blood flowing easier. Someone had put in a couple of movies for me to watch, but I don’t remember much of that either.â€Â

What he does remember, though, is the giant needle.

“I’m not usually afraid of needles,â€Â Brimmer said, “but that was a pretty damn big needle.â€Â

Savile underwent her bone marrow transplant (BMT) the very next day, and her whole family was there with her. “I think we were expecting something different, but it was really calm and quick,â€Â said Brimmer.

It takes about 100 days for Savile to fully adapt to her new marrow system, and day 100 will fall on May 20, three days before Brimmer is set to graduate from Fresno State with a bachelor̢۪s in business.

“She really wanted to come to my graduation, and now she’ll be able to,â€Â Brimmer said. “The Save Mart Center has even donated a skybox for my whole family.â€Â

Savile is beyond thrilled with how everything has turned out. “We went into this transplant process expecting to have to find a donor,â€Â she said, “and it’s amazing that Andy was a match.

“He was willing to endure days of Neupogen shots that made him feel horrible, then sit in a chair for four hours with these big old needles in his arms, to give me his stem cells.â€Â

And there is no doubt in Brimmer̢۪s mind that he would do it again.

“I would donate to anybody,â€Â he said, “knowing what I do now, what a family goes through when someone has cancer. You are literally saving someone’s life.â€Â

His sister would have to agree.

“Andy has given me a chance to grow old, which makes him a truly incredible brother,â€Â Savile said. “Now I’ll be around a long time to continue to pester him with my sisterly ways.â€Â