Schoolgirl Laura Buemi is battling against cancer and living in quarantine in a specially-adapted room to ensure she stays safe from everyday germs which could prove fatal.
The 10-year-old from Saar has recently received a revolutionary umbilical cord stem cell transplant after being struck down by an aggressive form of leukaemia after the disease flared up again following what appeared to be successful treatment.
The procedure took place in the Swiss-city of Geneva just five weeks ago and Laura is now recovering in a hospital unit as she slowly regains her immunity to infections.
She has to stay in the facility until the end of March and her mother Sylvia has to wear a mask and special medical clothing before being allowed to sit and cuddle her.
Dad Humbert, a Bahrain-based banking executive, said: “We are extremely happy at this stage because her immunity is improving. My little one is on the right path so far and we are just taking it one day at a time.
“My wife stays in Geneva and is with her every day from 10am till 8pm. If everything goes well, she will be allowed to leave the hospital at the end of March but must remain in Geneva for another two to three weeks for daily check-ups.
“We have to be careful from then on with everything she is doing and, in fact, have a whole list of things she is not allowed to do. For example, she can’t go to restaurants or any crowded areas like malls or cinemas. She is not allowed to be in contact with a pet. She is not allowed to eat a lot of food she normally would or any leftovers; everything must be fresh and thoroughly cooked.
“She can’t even get on a plane so she will not be allowed to come back before the end of this year.”
Laura is a pupil of the French School of Bahrain in Busaiteen as are her brothers, Frederic, 16, and Steve, 13.
The boys and Humbert, an executive director and senior representative at UBS Bahrain, regularly Skype with Laura and were with her every step of the way during the transplant procedure.
She was first diagnosed with the blood disorder in 2008 at the age of six after complaining of a pain in her leg. When a child has leukaemia, large numbers of abnormal white blood cells are produced in the bone marrow. These abnormal white cells crowd the bone marrow and flood the bloodstream, but they cannot perform their proper role of protecting the body against disease because they are defective.
As leukemia progresses, the cancer interferes with the body’s production of other types of blood cells, including red blood cells and platelets. This results in anemia - low numbers of red cells - and bleeding problems, in addition to the increased risk of infection caused by white cell abnormalities.
Laura was first taken for treatment in Switzerland, where the family comes from, within 48-hours of being diagnosed. She travelled with her mother while Humbert remained in Bahrain with their sons.
After six months she was able to return to Bahrain in August 2008 where she continued her treatment at the Salmaniya Medical Centre under the guidance of paediatric haematologist/ oncologist Dr Khulood Al Saad.
Humbert said: “We were extremely pleased with Dr Khulood. She is brilliant professional and knows what she is talking about.
“Laura went through chemotherapy for two-and-a-half years. By May 2010 the disease appeared to have completely gone and after her treatment she required a monthly blood check to make sure that the illness did not reoccur.”
Months went by and everything was looking rosy for little Laura. In December 2010, she returned to Switzerland to remove a portacap, a device inserted into her veins to make it easier to apply intravenous injections and chemotherapy. She was then back in Bahrain to ring in the New Year with her family and continued her routine blood checks at SMC.
However, following a blood check, the family received word from the hospital that Laura had relapsed. The devastated dad said: “I remember the day. My wife and I had gone to the hospital to receive the news and the little one was at a neighbour’s house at the time. We were very much affected by it.
“My wife was seated on the sofa looking down and I was at the dining table sitting silently thinking, what now?
“My little one walked in and saw the tears in my wife’s eyes. She immediately knew something was wrong.
“I took her on my lap and said, you know, Laura, we have a problem. You are having a relapse so it means unfortunately we have to start all over again.
“I don’t know what happened after that but within half-a-minute she turned completely and stopped me. She went to my wife and said ‘mum, don’t worry - it’s going to be OK’.
“Then in the evening, while she was alone with my wife, she said: ‘you know mum, it’s very hard, of course, what we heard this afternoon but we just have to take it as if I am continuing with the treatment and as though we never stopped and nothing happened - we are going to fight it’.
“I was amazed by how well she handled the news. She is very strong and focused - she has an objective and we are going to do whatever we can to achieve it. Throughout everything she has remained extremely positive. I am very proud of her.”
Laura returned to Switzerland for even more intensive chemotherapy treatment but within a few months the medics informed the family that it was not enough. The returning leukemia was regarded as ‘aggressive’ and the family was advised that the only hope would be a stem cell transplant.
The concept is simple. Stem cells from one person are transplanted to another when bone marrow has become damaged from disease or cancer treatment, such as excessive chemotherapy or radiation.
The job of the stem cells is to divide and make new blood cells. Once these new blood cells mature, they leave the bone marrow and enter the bloodstream.
Humbert said: “We were told that was the best procedure but we had to find a person compatible to Laura and if we didn’t that would be a big issue.
“Firstly, they turn to the siblings. We checked Fred and Steve but unfortunately they were not compatible. It seems that only 25 per cent of siblings usually are.
“Then the hospital looked into the bone marrow donor bank and still couldn’t find anyone. It’s very rare to find a person that is 100 per cent compatible. But last August 2011 they found someone who was 90 per cent compatible. We were relieved and thought that it seemed to be a high percentage of chance.”
The transplant was scheduled for the beginning of November 2011 but something happened just days before Laura was due to go into hospital and it was cancelled.
Humbert explained: “We don’t know if the donor was sick or had an accident. Either way, we could not have the transplant. Then a few days later they said they had found an umbilical cord which was suitable. It was donated in 2000 … which was actually a year older than Laura.
“This is a recent provision in health care. When a baby is born you can either save the cord or donate it. It is like a life insurance policy for the donor and others. They can take the stem cells out of the cord, modify them and then use them for a transplant, if needed. That is exactly what they did with Laura in December.
“It matched so she went through heavy chemo therapy to erase all her existing bone marrow at the end of November and she was even given special medication.
“Laura underwent the transplant on December 22 and thankfully the procedure was a success. We couldn’t be happier.”
For the transplant Laura had to have the portacaps reinserted into her body and three entry points for the delivery of the stem cells. She was under the care of Dr Hulya Ozsahin, professor of paediatric oncology, who held the child’s arm aloft in a sign of victory after the successful procedure.
Experts say a transplant offers a chance for cure or long-term remission if complications do not arise and the spectrum of opportunistic infections can be survived.
Humbert has advised other families going through similar trauma to stay strong and positive. He said: “You must believe that the doctors are doing the maximum they can and be strong for the child. You can’t go to the hospital and cry every day. It’s not good for the equilibrium you have in the family. Remain positive and you have to fight. It’s a bit like being in the middle of a pool of water - you either sink or swim.”
Keep Fighting Laura, we hope you get better..........MrCordBlood
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