02/09/2010
by Sherrie Wells Sherrie’s early morning journal entry… As I lay awake I can’t think of anything but Brady, his beautiful laugh and wonderful sense of humor, the lives he’s touched, this horrifying cancer, etc. I am so anxious about today’s blast count that I just wish it was 6pm, not 4am, and that we were getting the preliminary results read to us. Our sweet baby has to once again have anesthesia and undergo another surgery. I am so frightened for him. I’m also just downright sad. This entire ordeal is just heartbreaking to me. I want to scream that no child should have to suffer like this! All I can do is silently wipe the tears from my face as I do not want to wake him; he needs to be well rested. I pray that he will not have too much pain, that he forms a clot where they remove the marrow from his hip bone, and that the blast count is low enough to go to transplant. Last night at 10pm and again this morning at 4am Brady had to take a large dose of medicine and then drink six ounces of water. He’s not allowed to have his usual formula as this will interfere with him being NPO. He’s tired and does not want to drink the water, so I have to keep waking him up and forcing him to drink. Thank God he did it, both times. It took an hour but it was worth not having to put a tube down his nose into his belly! He just decided to remove his diaper and go “al fresco”. Then he pulled his baby blanket up over his head and wanted to play “peek-a-boo”. It’s 5:30 in the morning now and I beg him to go “night night”. He makes me laugh. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that a child could endure so much and still manage to light up a room with his smile. He makes me so proud to be his mommy.by Sherrie Wells Sherrie’s Noon Time Update Well, if there is one thing you can plan on regarding this disease simply stated is: plan nothing. The results of Brady’s CAT scan came back with 3 spots on his right lung. His medical team believes the spots are either bacterial and/or fungal. Either way the end result is we will be in the hospital at least one more day until the pharmacy can get the necessary intravenous antibiotics sent to our home. Brady will continue to have antifungal treatments while at home. A nurse will come to our house each day to administer them. In about 2 weeks, Brady will be anesthetized again and have another CAT scan. The results of this CAT scan will determine whether or not we stay on schedule with the stem cell transplant. If the spots on his lung are indeed fungal it will most likely push the transplant process back about a month. If the spots are bacterial we could stay on schedule. Right now it’s all up it the air. We hope to have the bone marrow biopsy results by early evening and yes the results of the biopsy could change everything I just wrote. Brady’s beginning to stir from his nap got to go.
by Michael Wells 2:00PM VERY EARLY BONE MARROW BIOPSY RESULTS: BLASTS LESS THAN 8% DETAILS LATER!!!
by Michael Wells I just got home from the hospital and here’s what we are being told; Brady bone marrow biopsy revealed less than 8% blasts. This is extremely preliminary results and subject to change but for the time being it’s looks like it’s a “go” for his bone marrow transplant. We should have the final pathology report this Friday. The other news is not so good. The CAT scan revealed 3-4 growths in Brady’s right lung. These are either a bacterial infection (septic emboli) or a fungal infection. Both are treatable and both cause no significant health risks. Brady will continue receiving intravenous antibiotics at home once he is released from the hospital. The reason he is not home at this very moment brings a whole new dimension to “black humor.” The only pharmacy in NJ that carries the antibiotics Brady needs is out of stock and cannot guarantee receiving them tomorrow because of the impending snow storm. So, it’s one or maybe two more days in the hospital because of the weather. On the serious side, the lung infection will possibly push back the stem cell transplant schedule. Right now it’s too early to confirm but it’s a better than 50/50 chance it will. The last thing you want is to start a transplant procedure with a patient who already has an infection. But at the same time you don’t to wait too long because the cancer does not stop growing just because the patient has an infection. It’s a bit dicey exactly how this is going to work out but this will be Dr. Bunin’s ultimate decision. We will be back for another CAT scan in the next couple of weeks and this will greatly determine how we proceed. For now, it’s been a very emotional day for Sherrie and me. The bottom line is Brady’s cancer is less today than it was a month ago and this is a very very good thing. I am exhausted (didn’t sleep but a couple of hours last night) so I going to say good night. Until next time; I am convinced it is your prayers, hugs and good thoughts that have taken Brady to the doorway of being cured so please continue them and thank you all!!!
“8 Years Later—Still No Cure for Pediatric Cancer” is a series of posts revisiting the journal kept by Sherrie and Michael Wells during the cancer diagnosis and treatment of their son, Brady Michael. Hopefully these entires will provide an understanding of the journey families face when dealing with these horrific diseases and of the important work the Hugs for Brady Foundation does.