Ray's story

When Ray Morrissey arrived in New Zealand from the UK in 2002, he had a very clear vision of what the next few years would be like in his newly-adopted country. He expected to further his career as a surveyor, build a house, and get in a fair amount of quality time on our beautiful golf courses. However, things didn't work out that way ...

It was in January 2003 that Ray decided to go to the doctor. He had been tired, had a nondescript cough and felt like he had the flu. What he didn't realise was that they were typical symptoms of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). Like many patients with his condition, only a day after the doctor received the results of his blood tests and a bone biopsy, Ray began his first chemotherapy session.

In all, Ray had 45 chemotherapy sessions. In the early stages of his treatment doctors mentioned the words 'bone marrow transplant', but it wasn't until after his second round of chemotherapy that the decision was made to go ahead.

Ray's brother, who was living in Sydney, had been tested in January as a potential donor but as the results weren't available until Easter, Ray underwent further maintenance chemotherapy. Ray's sister arrived from England at Easter and was just about to be tested as well when the confirmation came through that Ray's brother was a match. His brother then had the stem cells extracted from his blood over the course of two mornings at the New Zealand Blood Service.

Having completed his third course of chemotherapy, Ray was stable enough to prepare for the transplant. Ray had tolerated his previous chemotherapy well, but he said the combination of the total body radiation and the high dose of chemotherapy that was involved in the transplant, “hit him like a bus”. Following the transplant it took 13 days for the bone marrow to start engrafting. His blood counts slowly recovered but he still received blood transfusions as supportive care for the following six months.

Ray says the period of the transplant is still a blur - he remembers concentrating on things like golf, rugby, and even what was happening on Coronation Street to keep a focal point.

After nearly six weeks in hospital and another two weeks in nursing care, Ray was ready to finally head home to his newly completed house. He tooka year off work, returning for two days a week before building up to full-time. He has experienced some complications with graft vs host disease of his liver and skin. Some discolouration remains on his chest, but these after-effects are reducing and are now fairly minimal.

He said a turning point in his attitude to the disease was when he decided to focus on the end-goal of the treatment. He also advises others to do everything possible to work with the medical specialists as a team. Ray believes that the more information he was able to provide, the better they were able to care for him, and he recalls ringing the hospital at all hours of the day and night to check in and receive the best possible treatment and advice.

During the time of Ray's illness he was introduced to the LBF via the staff at the hospital. Our Support Co-ordinators visited him in the hospital, during day-stay and post-transplant we have remained in touch. He now attends special Bone Marrow Transplant Survivorship meetings from time to time.

Ray says that it's still a little hard to comprehend the medical science that made his transplant possible. As he says, he's learnt that every patient is unique and requires unique treatment, and he's grateful to the team who provided his care.

So after an unexpected detour, Ray is now very pleased to be spending that planned time furthering his career, enjoying his new home, and, of course, honing his technique on the golf course.

If you would like to speak to someone about leukaemia or a related blood disorder, contact one of LBF's Support Services Coordinators on 0800 15 10 15.