Unstoppable Testimonies

Hello! My name is Paula, I am 26 years old. In June 2018 I was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

I swapped university, and what I thought would be my first big job, for the hospital. It all seemed so surreal… I had only graduated a week ago and my head was full of big plans for the future.

My first reaction? Anger and helplessness. A young, sporty, healthy girl… how could this be happening to me? I remember that everything happened very quickly, I was immediately admitted to the Hospital Clínic in Barcelona receiving intensive chemotherapy every week for a month. I was lucky, as the tumour located in my mediastinum, which barely allowed me to breathe, disappeared and the malignant cells went from occupying 76% of my bone marrow to less than 2%. But it all went wrong when they detected a mutation in a gene that could reproduce the disease in the future. My only salvation was a bone marrow transplant from an unrelated donor, as my brother was only a 50% match for me.

After just over two months, the Bone Marrow Donor Registry of the Josep Carreras Foundation found a compatible donor for me abroad. And on 16 January 2019, the magic happened. But for me this is where the real battle began, both physically and psychologically. To regain all the strength I had lost during the process, with a new, weak bone marrow and an increased risk of infection or rejection, and to accept the side effects, both those that gradually faded away and those that remained. It was tough and complicated, but with patience and resilience almost anything can be achieved.

I thank life every day for having the family and friends I have (I think that, if I could have chosen my parents, I would have chosen them again), for having been born where I was born and for being lucky enough to be surrounded by professionals like those at the Clínic, they really need to be looked after more. I just want to send a big hug to all of you who are going through what I have experienced and encouragement to all the families and friends of the patients because you are essential. To all these people today I say that you are stronger than you think, because everything passes and everything comes, be patient and resilient.