Lifting the Load By Camilla Robinson
On a Saturday in January, in the middle of the Rancho Shopping Market’s parking lot in Los Altos, California, regular shoppers bought their groceries, stopped by the local frozen yogurt store, and dropped off clothes to be dry cleaned. Many of them noticed a large number of cars and people congregating together. With pink shirts and handmade signs, the group was ready. They marched together
across the street to a nearby house and started to cheer as a masked girl came onto the porch. Stella Bennett had spent the last few months in isolation recovering from a bone marrow transplant and had recently received the unfortunate news that her medical isolation was being extended six weeks due to a spike in local COVID numbers. Being denied the chance to finally meet some friends after such a long period of separation was
a considerable mental blow. Members of Stella’s community came out in support of her, offering cheers of encouragement outside her window. Even though she was unable to communicate directly with them, she felt their powerful presence. The local town crier commented that it was “a show of support from family and friends … to provide a moral boost for Stella”. For Stella and her family, this demonstration of support meant so much more than just a simple show of solidarity.
should have clotted. This culminated in a doctor’s appointment where she was diagnosed with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, or ITP, which for many can be treated with prednisone, a steroid pill, and often goes away From on its own over the begintime. ning of her diagnosis to her This diagnosis served transplants, transfusions, and mostly as an inconvechemotherapy through her nience in the first few lengthy recovery, Stella’s jour- weeks. Despite not being ney was marked by emotional able to play club volleyball strain and sacrifices that chal- or participate in summer lenged her even more than her activities, like camping, Stella physical hardships. made the best of her situation, In August of 2021, Stella had choosing to remain active started to notice that someand keep on being present in thing was off. Bruises were her community. At this point, appearing without any disshe anticipated that all would cernible cause and cuts would begin to normalize in a few bleed long past when they months. “[Stella’s doctors] almost wanted her to be put in a bubble,” Abby Bennett, Stella’s mom, commented. “So she couldn’t participate in PE, but she could socialize.” This was due to the fact she was lacking platelets, or cells that help clot your blood, and because of this lack of clotting mechanism,
even minimal injuries could potentially lead to life threatening bleeding, especially if she hit her head. A few weeks later, she returned to the hospital due to blood blisters in her mouth, which could have potentially indicated in-
ternal organ bleeding. Stella’s doctors were nervous about this potential problem, so they did numerous tests, including a bone marrow biopsy, to figure out what was going on. According to the test results, her bone marrow was nearly depleted, which was extremely dangerous for her immune system. Stella’s diagnosis was changed to Aplastic Anemia. The only treatment for this disease was a bone marrow transplant. Preparations began immediately for this transplant, including finding her prospec-
tive bone marrow donor. “The doctors have your whole family test to see if their [Stella’s immediate family members] DNA matches yours,” Stella explained. “My older sister, Julia, was in Mexico serving a mission for our church. We brought her back from Mexico and had her get tested.” Stella’s younger brother, Davis, and Julia ended up being matches for Stella’s bone marrow, but further testing revealed Julia to be the ideal donor. In order to be a bone marrow donor, Julia had to leave her mission assignment for several months during some of its crucial early stages and while she had just started developing her fluency in Spanish. In addition, since Julia had left for Mexico, their family home had been reorganized so she no longer had a bedroom. For the duration of Stella’s transplant, Julia had to sleep on a couch in the garage. Watching Julia make these sacrifices was difficult for Stella. “She basically put her whole life on pause to just sit at home and, you know, be my donor,” Stella commented. A bone marrow transplant consisted of replac-
ing Stella’s dysfunctional marrow with healthy marrow from the donor. In order to make sure that her immune system wouldn’t immediately attack the donor marrow, a patient has to undergo several weeks of chemotherapy to eliminate their immune system. New red blood cells and donor marrow would slowly be grafted into her system over the course of a few weeks. Due to the risks that come with an inactive immune system, Stella was required to stay in the hospital under supervision for a month during her transplant and chemo before she was allowed to leave. Life in the hospital was difficult. Visitor protocols were especially strict because of COVID, so the only people allowed to see Stella were her parents and medical personnel. The only time she was able to leave her hospital room was when they had to clean it. Flowers were prohibited and everything was extremely filtered to prevent infection while her immune system was compromised. Despite the protocols
that prevented visitors from coming directly inside, her friends and family still showed their support in the ways that they could. Through Zoom meetings, chat with her siblings, and glow stick dance parties outside of her window, people made sure that Stella was aware that they were still thinking about her, even as she was undergoing severe physical strain from the chemotherapy
and transplants. Her mom was someone who was able to interact directly with her and remained at the hospital with Stella almost the entire time. “I really felt strongly that Stella needed to never feel alone in the hospital,” her mom explained. Eventually, Stella started producing enough white blood cells on her own in order to be allowed to return home, but even then, there were still strict guidelines that continued to prevent her from returning completely to normal. Her circle of interaction had expanded to her entire household so she was allowed to interact with her fam-
ily once more, though she was still restricted from leaving the house, aside from short walks. “Having my friends go to a birthday party or just like those sort of things, going to school, even those were super emotionally hard for me,” Stella commented. “But I was just super fortunate … to have just so much support around me.” Over the next few months, Stella continued her recovery at home. Despite the delays of her projected end to the isolation, as well as having to be readmitted to the hospital due to high fever, her white cell counts began to
rise high enough that the walls of isolation started to come down. She was able to begin talking to friends again and go to activities outside of her home. Currently, Stella has returned to school and continues to work her way back into normal life once more. She rejoined her 7th grade class and continues to get back on top of school. The time from her original diagnosis of ITP to her eventual rejoining of society was a long and arduous journey. Despite all the hardships that came with Aplastic Anemia and a bone marrow transplant, Stella repeatedly expressed her gratitude for her support systems throughout her disease and recovery. “I am super grateful for the people around me because … it’s one thing to sit in a hospital all day, but it’s another to sit there alone.”
About the Author
Camilla Robinson is currently a junior attending Mountain View High School and Freestyle Academy. She enjoys playing tennis and performing in the chamber orchestra for her school. Outside of school, she enjoys reading, art, and playing with her dog, Cali. She is excited to continue learning new things at Freestyle Academy and looks forward to her senior year!