Deputy Andres Celis (RN) has had a life experience marked by a disease that has accompanied him since birth.
According to what he said in an interview with Las Últimas Noticias, his problems are due to a myelodysplasia that he suffers from, which is a disorder that affects the blood – which is why it is known as pre-leukemia – and in his case causes a much lower level of platelets than normal.
“The marrow produces red and white blood cells and platelets. I have a deficiency in the latter. The last test showed 30 thousand platelets and the minimum is 150 thousand. Now I have been anaemic,” explained the parliamentarian.
Although his situation is currently not serious, Deputy Celis explained that in his childhood the prognosis was very complicated. “At the clinic they said they didn’t know what it was, but most likely he was going to die,” he recounted an experience in which his parents even sent the tests to the United States. “[Dijeron que] I was going to survive, but very badly,” he stressed.
“I must make the decision to undergo a transplant”
According to the deputy, blood should be drawn every two or three months, while bone marrow tests should be performed every couple of years. And according to the specialists who review it today, a bone marrow transplant would be appropriate.
“I have a very special bone marrow; I have had Covid three times, mild. It works like that of a child, because any illness is very mild to me. For this reason, they tell me that it is my decision (the transplant), but we must recognize that it works well, I am 49 years old and I must make the decision to undergo a bone marrow transplant at the latest when I am 50 or 52. There I am, thinking if I do it or not. I’m going to give myself until re-election, because I have read a lot about the subject and I still have to take it,” he remarked to LUN.
And according to the above, this decision is directly connected to the fear of developing leukemia versus the risks of generating lower defenses with the new marrow. “When they take my blood I give zero coarse, but when they extract my marrow I show 9 or 10% and if it comes out above 20% it is leukemia. I am afraid of having children and being able to pass them on,” explained the deputy.
