Posted on 04/10/2019 10:54:28 AM PDT by Tired of Taxes
Shortly before undergoing surgery so that he could donate bone marrow to a 14-year-old boy in France, Derrick Nelson, a high school principal in Westfield, N.J., granted an interview to a student journalist.
“If it’s just a little bit of pain for a little bit of time that can give someone years of joy,” he told her, “it’s all worth it.”
In October, an organization that connects people suffering from life-threatening diseases with potential bone marrow donors had contacted the principal after he showed up as a potential match for the French patient. When follow-up testing confirmed the match, the 44-year-old educator readily agreed to donate his stem cells in hopes that it would save the life of a stranger. Tragically, it ended up being the last thing that he ever did.
On Monday, school officials announced that Nelson, who had been on medical leave since the February procedure, had died over the weekend. Family members told NJ.com that he had lapsed into a coma after the surgery and never recovered.
"After the procedure he did, he couldn’t speak and was lying in the bed,” his father, Willie Nelson, 81, told the site. “His eyes were open and he realized who we were. But he couldn’t move. He never spoke again.” The exact cause of his son’s death on Sunday remains unknown, the elder Nelson added. “We really don’t know the full story of what happened,” he told NJ.com. “We were expecting him to come out of the coma he was in. But he didn’t make it.”
In his February interview with the student newspaper, Nelson referenced multiple health issues that made his plan to donate stem cells to the teenager more complicated.
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
Did the anesthesiologist take a coffee break and not pay attention to oxygen levels?
Sounds like he was not a good candidate for the procedure. He had sleep apnea and carried the trait for Sickle Cell. Sounds like it was a bad idea all around.
Sad!
Bad screening, bad doctor. What hospital?
These stories always tug at my heartstrings. Someone is doing a good deed, never knowing the outcome will be tragic.
Oops.
As the saying goes, “No good deed goes unpunished”
Altruism kills.
Anesthesia is the most dangerous part of many surgical procedures
My son donated bone marrow and said after the procedure that it felt like he had been kicked in the butt. Over it after two days. Small discomfort to save a life.
Well, you can’t say he didn’t suck the marrow out of life.
I have thought about being a donor for many years and never went through with it. Before agreeing, I would want the assurance that someone else paid all my expenses for the procedure and any complications. I don’t mind the time or physical pain to save a life but I’m not going into debt for it and hospitals are so damn expensive.
Very sorry for this man and his family.
Trying to find the hospital info...
Was it “Hackensack University Hospital”? Here:
Sometimes bad things just happen. These are generally pretty low risk things even under a general, and they used a local.
I commend the guy for what he did. Sad that it didn’t work out.
Think of the difference he could have made in that young kid’s life.
Sad indeed.
There are a couple of clues here. “Sickle Cell Disease”. If the trauma and anesthesia kicked of a clotting event he could have well had a Pulmonary Embolus that was massive. Just guessing here.
In this case that is doubly true, I suspect.
This is the first time I’ve heard of a marrow donor dying after the procedure. I suppose any surgery for any reason will hold a certain level of risk.
I almost never hear of anyone having Sickle Cell Anemia these days. It was more talked about some 40 years ago. I recall one of my classmates having the condition back in the 70’s.
I don’t know if she’s still around or not.
He should not have been accepted for this operation.
Sickle cell be me trait 200k cases a year. It is not that uncommon among certain groups.
Mainly blacks in usa and Hispanics.
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