Category: Patient Stories

It seems like just the other day we were catching up with Barrie Beck having a chat with him about his life and what he had been up to since his days at Arrow. So it was with great sadness that we heard the news from Barrie’s twin sister Evelyne that Barrie passed away 22nd […]

It was soon after the birth of her second child that Emma’s unusually high platelet count was noticed for the first time, and just 2 months later she was told she had Essential Thrombocythemia, usually diagnosed in people much older than Emma.  Here’s Emma’s story:    Can you tell me, Emma, how you were first […]

Bills. Rates notices. Junk mail. That’s the kind of mail we all deal with every day. This, though. THIS is not your everyday kind of mail, and it’s the kind of mail we love here at Arrow. This is the card that Raf sent. Raf is seven, a paediatric bone marrow transplant recipient, and has […]

Losing your hair is one of the most common worries for people facing chemotherapy treatment. The Tracey Scone Wig Library has been a long time support for chemotherapy patients, but the lock-downs during the worst of the COVID pandemic saw us unable to help in this way. Yesterday Richelle stopped into the offices of Look […]

Arrow has donated a cannula machine to St Vincent’s Hospital to reduce the stress and anxiety of receiving a cannulation. This new ultrasound machine helps nurses find a patient’s vein and get the intravenous cannula in on the first go.  Donor Greg Bugden was very supportive of the purchase of the machine in memory of […]

Patients at St Vincent’s Hospital will enjoy greater comfort thanks to Arrow’s donation of a brand new tender loving chair. This specialised care chair for patients on the haematology and bone marrow transplant (BMT) ward has electronically adjustable height, back and leg rests. A welcome addition to the ward, the chair is a great improvement […]

Sophie and Hailey are identical twins and the best of friends. Both diagnosed with an inherited immune deficiency at three years of age, the girls have faced significant health challenges throughout their nine years of life. The biggest challenge of all has been their recent separation from each other whilst each undergoing a bone marrow […]

The inaugural meeting of what was then known as the Australian Bone Marrow Transplant Foundation (ABMTF) was held on 25 February 1987. Some 35 years later, we talk to one of Arrow’s founding members Barrie Beck, who underwent a bone marrow transplant at St Vincent’s Hospital in 1985 at the age of 39 for acute […]

Each year in Australia approximately 150 children under the age of 16 receive a haematopoietic stem cell transplant. Receiving treatment at one of the specialist Children’s Hospitals across the country, the families of these children face significant financial and logistical challenges. Arrow aims to help these families through our patient support program offering accommodation, travel, […]

Arrow’s Tracey Scone Wig Library was established in 2000 and has helped hundreds of patients who have suffered hair loss due to chemotherapy. The loan of a wig has provided patients with a much needed boost to their confidence and self esteem. As with many programs this year, the Tracey Scone Wig Library was impacted […]

“Care, warmth, and love” are three words that come to mind when young bone marrow transplant recipient Frank Li (pictured left) describes the sponsorship of Arrow’s grocery card initiative by Independent Grocers of Australia (IGA). And that is exactly what IGA is all about – taking care of locals. With a network of 1,400 independently […]

For patients undergoing bone marrow transplants the costs associated with travel can be significant. Rosemary, a social worker on the frontline with patients, explains that “by the time they (patients) get to having a transplant, after a lengthy and usually complex medical history, they have already incurred significant additional travel costs in addition to other […]