07/09/2010
by Michael Wells Life for Brady is becoming more and more “normal.” He has been fever-free, his blood pressure is normal, his white blood count is recovering at a slow pace (0.6), he is receiving less and less pain medication and he is within days of no longer receiving steroids. He appears to be in relatively “good” health with the one exception his cancer. This is without a doubt so much more difficult than I could have ever imagined. On the surface Brady is looking and acting like any typical inquisitive toddler. He has established his daily routine of eating, and going for wagon rides virtually non-stop. He is extremely specific regarding what is in his wagon, which hat he will wear and where he wants to visit. He loves going to the end of the courtyard where he can see the buses, cars and trains traveling in and out of New Brunswick. He likes to visit the PSE&G Hospital to see the fish and the “wheels.” For the past several nights, he likes to go outside and pick the black-eyed-susan flowers which he gives to the nurses. Brady is just doing extremely well and is more and more acting like “our” Brady. All this and no one appears to have a very clear cut plan of what’s next and where do we go from here. I think Brady is confusing his medical team with the fantastic progress he is making. All we can get out of them is; “…well, let’s wait and see.” It’s driving us crazy. The best mines in pediatric cancer and we get; “…it’s really up to Brady.” What we do know is; once Brady is completely off the steroids and if he remains fever-free and if he appears to have no or very little graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) then “maybe” he will receive a donor lymphocyte transfusion (DLT). It appears the earliest this will happen is the week after next, somewhere around July 20th. Until then, we wait and wait and wait… It’s enough to drive you crazy! What is keeping us sane is the basic fact; we are so convinced Brady is going to beat this hideous disease and we further believe every one of you share in his miracle. So, while we are far from being out of the woods, we are starting to see a little flicker of light and hope. Until tomorrow; Simple but true – it’s your prayers, hugs and thoughts which are saving my son’s life so please continue them.“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.