Veteran returns to America for a bone marrow transplant

Jerry came to our house four months ago from Hong Kong after noticing he was often having shortness of breath after working out, something he had never experienced before.

After visiting doctors in Hong Kong, where Jerry and his wife were living at the time, the doctors conducted a biopsy and diagnosed him with Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS), which is a rare disorder in which the production of blood cells continues to be disrupted.

For a while, Jerry said he took medication and was able to control his MDS until his tumor metastasized. Jerry quickly realized he would need to seek medical attention in the United States for a bone marrow transplant, as hospitals in Hong Kong were not well equipped to handle such a sophisticated procedure.

With that in mind and the onset of the COVID pandemic at the beginning of the year, Jerry began doing research and decided to come to Jacksonville, a place he was familiar with given his time in the Marine Corps.

Before his diagnosis, Jerry was up and about in the bustling metropolitan city of Hong Kong and busy working on the business he had founded, Cloud Transformation and Security Solutions. In between his busy schedule, Jerry could also be seen at conferences giving speeches to his peers and those interested in cloud technology and innovation.

Jerry considered himself very active, in good shape, and well regimented, something he picked up from his time in the Marine Corps.

From a young age, before founding his own technological start-up, Jerry wanted to be a part of something elite and bigger than himself. Therefore, as soon as he graduated from high school in Cleveland, where Jerry had grown up, he enlisted in the Marine Corps.

He considered himself to be a patriotic and motivated citizen and fought in the Vietnam War as part of the Marine Corps. He then spent multiple years in active duty, two and a half years as a military policeman doing embassy duty in Lisbon, Portugal, and then joined the reserves for 6 more years.

While in the reserves, Jerry joined the Cleveland State University and with his flair for numbers, graduated with a degree in accounting. He then joined a prominent international accounting firm, Ernst & Young. It was with this firm that Jerry got the opportunity to work in Hong Kong, became a permanent resident, met his wife, and settled down.

He and his wife came to our house four months ago to receive his bone marrow transplant. The first month at our house was spent waiting for a bone marrow donor after the initial donor fell through. After a month of waiting, the doctors at Mayo Clinic decided to use his daughter as his donor.

Jerry was in the hospital for multiple days, and once he was released, had to be extremely careful of his low immunity when coming back into our house. Extremely diligent of his diet and mindful of his doctors’ instructions, for the next three months, he handled the chemotherapy treatment surprisingly well.

Jerry said, “The doctors were quite shocked at how well I reacted to the chemotherapy”, although Jerry felt brain fog and some other side effects of taking multiple pills a day.

Since having his surgery a few weeks later, the doctor conducted another test and told Jerry his MDS was 100% cured. However, it wasn’t all over, Jerry still has to stay with us as his 100-day follow-up period begins, and the doctors continue to monitor him. Also while his MDS is considered cured, there is no guarantee he will not have any flare-ups or issues in the future.

After this follow-up, Jerry is looking forward to returning to his life in Hong Kong and cannot wait to return to the convenience of life over there. His apartment is attached to a huge mall and one of the best transportation systems in the world.

The one thing Jerry might miss the most about being in the United States, however?

He laughed, “Taco Bell. My first thought on arriving in the States was, I have to go get some Taco Bell.”

Before his transplant, during the month-long process of attempting to find a bone marrow donor with a better DNA match than his daughter, Jerry could be seen on our patio enjoying his favorite meal!

But as of now, Jerry has to stick to a strict diet and has been doing well. He has been able to start reading again, working part-time, and reintroduced mild exercise back into his life.

“The Gabriel House of Care staff really takes care of you, and everything is very well set up here. Any problem I may have, the staff can help me with. So far my experience has been amazing and I can’t say enough about it.”