01/19/2010
by Michael Wells A very short entry this morning as I am on my way to NYC and must get my butt in gear. Brady is doing excellent. Other than a vomiting episode Monday morning he continues on the path of lower blood counts and hopefully driving his cancer into remission. No exact numbers on his blood counts as yesterday he did not have any blood drawn. So, until later today please continue your prayers, hugs and good thoughts…Tuesday was a so-so day for Brady. His blood count is in the basement with his white blood cells being less than 1,000 versus normal count of around 140,000+. So, if he sneezes he gets a bloody nose (which he did) and if he falls (which he does constantly) he bruises. He has bruises all over his body and finally today he received a platelet transfusion to raise his white blood count. I say finally, because yesterday his nurse wanted him to receive a platelet transfusion but the resident on duty vetoed her suggestion. I should have spoke up but I didn’t and I assure you this will not happen again. In fact, I plan to bring this event to Dr. Drachtman’s attention. I swear you to question everything and often times that’s not enough. Another event today had me ready to scream. I realize Robert Wood Johnson is a public hospital and it turns no one away but some of the people that have children in Brady’s unit are just plain filthy. One family in particular is so below basic hygiene standards that anyone with half a brain will not go near them for fear of contracting something. This is particularly frightening when your child is immune deficient and can get deathly ill so easily. Well, today a nurse came into Brady’s room after attending to the filthy child and did not wash her hands. She did not touch Brady and I was totally prepared to stop her if she attempted to but God Almighty what do you have to do to keep your sick child safe? I guess I am becoming a bit over sensitive but I do not want Brady’s health to be placed in jeopardy because of something that could of and more importantly should have been prevented. This is a continuous nightmare which cannot end soon enough. I truly pity the next person at this place to screw-up; they will receive a huge dose of displaced anger. So, as I calm down and get ready to call it a night; please continue to pray for Brady and keep him in your thoughts and give someone (who’s needs it) a big hug!
“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.