Caroline
Before the diagnosis, Caroline's parents, having grown unhappy with the care provided by the blood specialists at Caroline's local hospital, decided to switch her to a hematologist at New York University (NYU) Medical Center. After conducting many tests, including a painful bone marrow biopsy, the new team concluded she was suffering from idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), an autoimmune disease in which the patient's body attacks its own platelets. However, Susan Watters, Caroline's mom, had done enough online research to believe that Caroline's symptoms did not match those listed for ITP.
Dr. Boulad
When Farid Boulad, Medical Director of the Pediatric Day Hospital, first met Caroline Watters, she had recently come to Memorial Sloan-Kettering after having received a diagnosis of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). MDS is considered to be a preleukemia, though some patients with MDS receive the same treatment as those with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). The treatment plan for these patients often includes a blood stem cell transplant, a procedure in which physicians replace a patient's diseased or damaged marrow with healthy blood-forming cells.
