Welcome to Less Is More the personal blog of a digital advertising connoisseur, media man, skier, somewhat avid cyclist, foodie, wine lover, car & history buff. Questions?
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
We did it. Thanks to everyone who swabbed #4amit.
Keep on swabbing, many more lives to save with SAMAR & Be The Match.
Social Media can and will save more lives.
Many of you have asked, so here’s what’s going on with me.
WHAT HAPPENED BEFORE
- 8/1979: Born. Grew up in CT, built a killer eraser collection, fell in love with computers.
- Left college to start a company. Fell hard. Fled to India for 3 months.
- Started 2nd company. Learned to be an adult. Fell in love with NYC.
- Moved to SF, discovered burritos & some of my fave people on Earth.
- 9/2011: Got diagnosed with Leukemia!
- Cried. Went through 3 cycles of chemo. Hurt. Thought hard about what I want out of life. Grew up a second time.
TODAY
… After over 100 drives organized by friends, family, and strangers, celebrity call-outs, a bazillion reblogs (7000+!), tweets, and Facebook posts, press, fundraising and international drives organized by tireless friends, and a couple painful false starts, I’ve got a 10/10 matched donor!
You all literally helped save my life. (And the lives of many others.)
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
Tomorrow, I’ll be admitted to Dana Farber in Boston for 4-5 weeks.
First I’ll get a second Hickman line to allow direct access to my heart (for meds and for nutrients if I’m not able to eat). Over the next week, the docs blast my body with a stiff chemo cocktail to try and eradicate all traces of cancer cells. In the process, the immune system I was born with, and my body’s ability to make blood, are destroyed.
Next Friday, I get my donor’s stem cells by IV. I start on immunosuppressants to prevent my body from rejecting them (I’ll be on them for 12-18 months). For these weeks I’ve no immune system, so I’m severely vulnerable to viruses and bacteria. My hospital room and hallway become my world.
Meanwhile, the stem cells make their way to my bone marrow and, with some luck, start producing platelets, red blood cells, and white blood cells. At this point, my blood type changes to the blood type of my donor. And my blood will now have my donor’s DNA, not my own.
This is science fiction stuff. I can hardly believe it’s even possible, and there’s lots of chances for things to go wrong. It’s frightening.
AFTER THE TRANSPLANT
Recovery to a new state of “normal” takes about a year, but there’s a few storm clouds hovering:
- My immune system is new, like a baby’s. I’m prone to getting sick.
- Just as with any organ transplant, there’s a chance of rejection. Except in this case, it’s my blood that’s the foreign body, and it touches every organ. They call it graft-vs-host-disease and it can cause health issues and organ complications for the rest of my life.
- Successful transplant or not, Leukemia can relapse. Stubborn mofo.
Overall, 75% of AML transplant patients survive year one, 50% make it through year five. My odds are a little better since I’m young.
THE GREAT NEWS
I’ve got a long road ahead. But I’ve got a donor & amazing family & friends. A few months ago I didn’t have many options. Today I have a plan.
I am alive. I start tomorrow. Wish me luck!
Thank you.
I swabbed #4amit, but with the big one this time.
We’re in need of a few volunteers to help in NYC and elsewhere. Can you help?
- In NYC, Samar is looking for a few volunteers for a few hours this Sunday to help assemble swab kits. Comment on this Facebook post for more info.
- In Boston, Josh Gardner is looking volunteers to help at donor drives he’s organizing, as well as people who have connections to local universities. Here’s his post and he’s asking that people email him at jbgardner@gmail.com.
- Jackie’s still looking for volunteers to help contact Indian temples and cultural centers about hosting donor drives. You can be anywhere to help. She needs people to help email, design, and write. Contact her at anyjackie@gmail.com.
Please reblog!
p.s. For the latest on how to help, and where donor drives are happening, etc. check out amitguptaneedsyou.com. (You can also stay up to date by liking the Facebook page or following this Tumblr)
Guys- everyone in local nyc area please help.
Also actors and actresses needed for a SAMAR / NMBP video to be shot in NYC this coming weekend on 10/29
Please email: theadvertising @ gmail dot com
Thanks!
On the way to you Amit.
We can do this people
GPOYW- swabbing for Amit.
Everyone should be doing this for GPOYW (esp if your brown)
Photojojo’s Amit Gupta was recently diagnosed with Leukemia. He’ll be one step closer to curing it if he can find a genetic match of South Asian descent.
Here’s the best thing you can do to help right now:
Sign up to get a free test by mail. You rub your cheeks with a cotton swab and mail it back. It’s easy.
Let’s go fellow brownies!
-Ds
Photojojo’s Amit Gupta was recently diagnosed with Leukemia. He’ll be one step closer to curing it if he can find a genetic match of South Asian descent.
Here’s the best thing you can do to help right now:
- If you’re South Asian, get a free test by mail. You rub your cheeks with a cotton swab and mail it back. It’s easy.
- If you’re in NYC, you can go to this event his friends are putting on.
- If you know any South Asians (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, or Sri Lanka), please point ‘em to the links above. Thank you.
You can read Amit’s full message here. Please spread the word by reblogging this post.
No excuses everyone must do this who is brown.
(Source: jayparkinsonmd)
