11/06/2009
by Michael Wells I started writing today’s journal entry on my business trip (train ride) to Washington DC. I wrote a bunch of stuff about how I am feeling and a bunch of stuff about what Sherrie and I are experiencing and how this whole “thing” is affecting us but I’ve decided not to share that; it is private, personal and not for publication. What you need and want to know deals with Brady. Well, he’s having a real rough time of it. There is nothing unusual about what he is going through, it’s all expected but nonetheless extremely painful for him. It’s really quite simple: Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML) chemotherapy destroys the blood cells; in particular white blood cells which in turn reduce the body’s ability to fight infection and infections cause problems and pain. This morning I spoke with Sherrie and she told me that Brady slept through most of the night even though his body continues to be ravaged by the results of his intense chemotherapy. He’s no longer eating, his white blood count is virtually non-existent, his temperature continues to fluctuate between 101° to 103°, his breathing is labored and erratic, his blood pressure is lower then desired and he is apparently in pain. So, now he’s receiving morphine through his IV drip line along with calories so he doesn’t lose too much weight. This is in addition to his saline drip, antifungal, antibiotics, diuretics and his periodic whole blood and platelet transfusions. This afternoon his feet turned blue and the doctors had a probable x-ray machine brought to his room and he received a chest x-ray right there in his room. The chest x-rays results were fine but Brady does have some fluids in his lungs which the doctors are keeping track of my having Brady hooked up to a pulse and oxygen monitor. His team of doctors, nurses and technicians are monitoring him very closely and there is a fairly good chance he could end up in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) before too long. Again, this is not out of the ordinary. It’s just what happens when a baby is treated with the chemotherapy protocol designed to deal with pediatric AML. Hopefully Brady is approaching the abyss of this treatment cycle and soon will start to improve. For his sake, it cannot happen soon enough. Brady is really having a rough go of it. I will keep you posted on any developments. Until next time; please keep Brady in your thoughts, prayers and hugs…“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.