From Crisis to Counselor
In 1995, Andrea Feldmar was a typical mom, raising two children and working on her masters degree in marriage and family counseling. How quickly things can change.
“It all started with an ear infection,” says Andrea, whose daughter, Robyn, was 2-years old at the time.
“After three trips to the pediatrician, they did some blood work and sent us directly to the hospital. Robyn was admitted to the intensive care unit: she had a rare form of leukemia. We were told she might not live through the night, and if she did, only a bone marrow transplant could save her.”
“We were stunned,” continues Feldmar. “When we asked to talk with other parents whose child had been transplanted for the same disease they told us to forget it. There were only three and none of the children had survived.”
Thrust into the world of bone marrow transplantation, it quickly became apparent that the hospital was well equipped to care for
Robyn, but poorly equipped to help her parents cope with the ordeal. “We were winging it,” says Andrea, “not knowing what to expect next or where to turn for help.”
After Robyn’s successful transplant, Andrea completed her degree in counseling. She went back to the hospital and told them ‘You need to address the psychosocial needs of caregivers and family members’ and she formed support groups at the hospital to do just that.
A few years later, the Leukemia Research Foundation hired her to run their Patient Services Program. “It helped me reach out to hundreds of families and provide one-on-one counseling ,” she says. “During that time I worked closely with BMT InfoNet and realized there was a host of unmet needs for transplant patients ranging from how to help the family get through it to ‘oh my god, I survived, what now?’”
Working together with BMT InfoNet, she helped develop the first ever Celebrating a Second Chance at Life Survivorship Symposium to focus solely on the needs of bone marrow, stem cell and cord blood transplant survivors and their loved ones. The program drew more than 350 participants, all searching for the kind of information that Andrea and BMT InfoNet knew they needed.
Robyn is now a teenager, making her own decisions and engaging in normal teenage activities. She is finishing her last year of high school and looking forward to college. “I never thought I would see this day,” says Feldmar.
As for Andrea, she is now in private practice, offering medical support counseling to families facing a transplant. She offers both phone and in-person counseling. “I know, first hand, how important it is to be available at the convenience of the patient’s family,” says Feldmar. “I’m always just a phone call away.”
You can learn more about Andrea’s services at www.andreafeldmar.com or by phoning 630 240 9779.
   
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