01/12/2010
by Michael Wells Monday Morning Finally my beautiful son is asleep and it’s 6:00am. It was a night for the record books. Brady didn’t nod-off until 11:00pm and no sooner would Brady be snoozing when the door to our room would open and it was either Aaron his med tech wanting to take his vitals or Karen his nurse needing to give him various meds along with the administering of the truly wonderful eye drops. Chemotherapy has got to be just about as torturous as the medieval practice of bloodletting. During the actual chemo it’s eye drops every 4 hours and antibacterial, antifungal and at least 3 other medications. To complicate matters; Brady has been quarantined to his room because of the C-Diff (clostridium difficile) he came down with 2 weeks ago. The ironic part is C-Diff is caused by taking antibiotic medications. Hopefully, by the end of the day (Monday) he should be cleared and allowed to leave his room. Either way we will be completing chemo in the next 3 days and then it’s onto vomiting. What fun… While all of this insanity is taking place; Brady has not been cranky or fussy, he just seems to go with the flow. I am convinced I could learn quite a bit from his attitude and approach to life. To see what this child endures and continues to be a happy, bright baby is just remarkable. I know I am incredibly bias but Brady is really an astonishing child. After Sunday’s journal entry, I promised myself I would try not to get so macabre and to be bit more positive. Speaking of positive; Sherrie just arrived and with a cup of coffee – God, I love this woman… Until next time: continue all the work each of you are doing because I am convinced “it” works…I looked in the dictionary for synonyms for the word “monotony” and here are few that characterize an extended stay in a hospital: repetitiousness, same ole thing, tedium, identicalness. If you have ever experienced being in the hospital for any length of time you will most likely understand just how monotonous it gets. Well, this evening we finally caught a break and after much insistences and a vowel to name my next child after the nurse practitioner Donna the quarantine imposed on Brady was lifted. We were allowed after 8 straight days to leave the room. It just amazes me how such a small thing like taking going for a walk with Brady in his wagon can almost bring a grown man to tears. It was just GREAT to take Brady to the PSE&G Rehab Center and visit with all the fish. It is also incredible just how many people have gotten to know Brady. Of course, Brady is wearing his surgical mask and I allow no one to come within 5 feet of him. We had a blast and Brady really did enjoy himself as he is now fast asleep and hopefully for the night. Sherrie is home catching up on her rest and as a very small birthday present from me. Yes, tomorrow is Sherrie’s birthday and NO I’m not going to tell you how old she is. Let’s just put it this way; she still has more than a few years to go before she catches up with me. One last thing before I call it a night; Brady has now learned to have pillow fights. He throws all of his pillows out of his crib and as I pick one up he just laughs and laughs and throws another. This went on for a least an hour and was really quite amusing as I was trying to give him a bath. He’s really has a great sense of humor. Well, I just spoke with Dr. Weiss tonight and he assures me Brady blast counts will be low enough to get us to the next round of treatment: a bone marrow transplant. I know the Doc is just saying what I want to hear but I’ll take it for tonight. Last night of chemotherapy and soon the fun and games will start. Keep the prayers, hugs and good thoughts coming they got us out of quarantine and one small step closer to a cure… HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMY!!! XOXOXOXOX
“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.