06/14/2010
by Michael Wells Just a brief entry today as I want to get to my office early. Brady is doing as well as expected; his chemo is completed and now it’s the very difficult task of waiting. On the positive side, his white blood count is at 0.10 which is the lowest that can be measured and the amount of steroids he is been receiving is being reduced daily. So, all and all he is doing well. Prayers, hugs and good thoughts are still an absolute necessity, so please continue them. I will write more this evening…Sherrie’s random thoughts… It’s late at night and Brady is settled in for the night, so to speak. Nights seem to be harder for him for some reason. Or maybe it just seems that way when he wakes me up out of a sound sleep crying out in pain “ma, ma”. This morning between four and six o’clock he was given an additional four doses of morphine. Our poor baby’s little body has undergone so much and he is fighting so hard. When he is not sleeping he is sitting in his high chair eating or going for a wagon ride. Today, I wore a path in the floor on this tiny floor as we circled around for four or five hours. As soon as I thought he was asleep I would slow down and he would immediately wake up and say “more”. I thought my arm was going to give out. He has gotten to the point where he does not have the energy to raise his little hands to blow kisses to the doctors and nurses, he simply puckers up and makes a smooching noise. He is still not eating very much but when he does have an appetite he seems to be craving certain foods in particular. He loves cheeses these days; cheese sticks, macaroni and cheese, cheesecake, cheese doodles, any type of cheese! I had Michael stop by Stop & Shop to stock up on the 30 second baby mac & cheese because when he wants to eat there’s no waiting. I’m not sure if we shared this but a week or so before chemo, Brady’s hair was just starting to grow back. Instead of blonde, it looked really dark. I can’t imagine what he would have looked like. And now, he’s already beginning to loose the little bit he has. And even though he is still as gorgeous as can be, this is really difficult for Michael and me to watch. Silly, I know, hair is the last thing we need to be concerned with. Last night we had a funny incident happen. We ventured over to the PSE&G Children’s Specialized Hospital to look at the fish. It was quite tranquil looking at the large tank. Brady fell asleep and Michael and I just sat there in silence holding hands. Serene and peaceful until they had a fire drill, emergency flashing lights, sirens blaring, and, OH NO, the doors are all closing! We quickly escaped to find ourselves outside in the rain. It was comical. Well, I am going to keep it short tonight as I need to try to get some sleep. I want to thank each and every one of you for making Brady a special person in your life. And Grandma Wells, happy birthday!
“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.