For nearly 200 patients and family members at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital who have received a blood and/or marrow transplantation in the past year, celebrating the holiday season was made a little more cheerful this year.
This December, a luncheon was hosted at UAB Hospital by UAB and BMT Angels of Alabama Foundation, where patients mingled with one another and even received a special visit from Santa and his elves.
“A cancer diagnosis can be a life-changing or -altering traumatic occurrence, for not only for the patients but the families as well,” said Kaitlin Johnson, MSN, R.N., BMTCN, transplant coordinator of Patient Education for Blood and Marrow Transplants. “We give back day to day with our healing hands and through bringing some Christmas cheer, too.”
UAB’s Bone Marrow Transplantation and Cell Therapy Program is one of the leading transplant centers in the region and has performed more than 1,700 transplants since opening in 1991.