03/30/2010
by Michael Wells I left the hospital on Sunday evening with what I thought was a sick baby, I returned Tuesday evening to discover I really didn’t understand exactly what being sick really was. Brady has developed engraftment syndrome (ES). ES is a toxicity of an autologous stem cell transplantation which occurs unexpectedly and causes fever, rash and pulmonary deterioration. Brady is febrile (103.5˚), he has a rash covering him from head to toe much like an adolescent with acne and his breathing is labored. He is being closely monitored and will be receiving steroids to help control the ES. This all occurred in the past 2 days and it’s just scared the hell out of me when I walked into his room and saw him. He looks just so sick! While I was at the hospital, Brady’s temperature came down to 100˚ and once again he was his usual self wanting to read every book in the room, making sure we “hit play” every time his Baby Einstein DVD ended and being just about the most beautiful baby in the world. Sherrie phoned me about 20 minutes ago to tell me his temperature is once again at 103˚ and he was in pain so she administered a bolus of morphine to help him settle down. This is just so painful to watch. Brady needs all the help you can give him. Please help him get through this with your prayers, hugs and thoughts. It’s just about overwhelming…“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.