01/22/2010
by Michael Wells I arrived at the hospital a little after 8:00pm tonight to find Brady running a temperature (100.8°) and having vomited twice already. Yet, this astonishing toddler was still in relatively great spirits. We had a very light dinner consisting of cookies and jell-o. After dinner because he was not up to walking so we took him for a wagon ride to see the fish and everyone who said hell-o to him received a wave and kiss blown from our son. At the very end of our ride Brady once again became ill and what little dinner he had was no longer his. To say I hate this disease does not do the word hate justice. Brady just doesn’t deserve this hell. After we cleaned him, his wagon and his crib; he sat in my arms and just about fell asleep. He just falls asleep and now it’s time for his oral meds and so it goes. The kid cannot catch a break. He must be feeling really miserable because Sherrie just gave him 2 oral medications and he didn’t even move. It is during this phase of chemotherapy that takes its toll on everyone but particularly Brady. The poor guy is just going through hell. Because of his high temperature he had blood cultures taken and is now on antibiotics which means for the next 2 weeks he will be hooked up to his IV pumps. I told you he just cannot catch a break. Sherrie is staying at the hospital tonight and I hope she gets a little rest. I am going to call it a night and hope you all continue to pray, hug and keep Brady in your thoughts; tonight he needs all the help he can get. PS All this on the day Brady turned 17 months old; helluva way to spend your birthday!!! 3am update: 102.7° fever, they gave him Tylenol It’s now 4:30am and after Sherrie phoned me I cannot go back to sleep so I’m off to the hospital. There isn’t too much I can do but I can at least bring Sherrie a cup of coffee. Arrived at the hospital around 5:45am and Brady and his Mom are trying to sleep. Brady’s temperature is down to 99.8° and so it goes. The insidious nature of this disease is just horrible to watch it takes its toll on your love ones. Brady is again stirring so keep your fingers crossed his temperature remains under control…Blood Drives for Brady… If you live in northern New Jersey: Michelle Martin, Michael’s friend and coworker, in coordination with the Blood Center of New Jersey and the Union Elks Club are hosting a blood drive for Brady on Sunday, February 7th from 8:30-2:30 at the Union Elks Lodge #1583, #281 Chestnut St. Union, NJ 07083, (908) 686-1583. You do not need to make an appointment to donate. And, best of all, they are serving a roast beef dinner to everyone that donates, wow! The Elks are involved in a wide variety of programs, from scholarships to drug education to Veterans Services. Public service is an integral part of being an Elk. In keeping with this tradition, Elks create and participate in many programs to better their communities and demonstrate that Elks Care – Elks Share! www.elks.org/lodges/lodgenews.cfm?lodgenumber=1583 If you live in central New Jersey: Marc Rubenstein, our friend and owner of Jersey Physical Therapy, in coordination with the Community Blood Council of New Jersey and Jersey Physical Therapy are hosting a blood drive for Brady on Saturday, February 20th from 10-2 at Jersey Physical Therapy, #3228 Route 27, Kendall Park, NJ, 08824. Drinks and snacks will be provided. Please call Carolyn ASAP at (732) 297-0032 to make an appointment to donate. Jersey Physical Therapy will make your physical therapy experience an enjoyable one. Our mission is to provide the highest quality physical therapy and the best customer service in our industry. You can always expect to be treated with the personalized attention you deserve. Our motto is, “Providing Relief, Restoring Function”, and that is exactly what we work to do. Each physical therapy program is individualized based on the patient and his/her diagnosis. www.jerseypt.com Many, many overdue thank you notes… Devon, a child whom we do not know, donated a “Pockets of Love” blanket for Brady. This blanket was created in West Virginia by Sienna Cavallo and her “nana”. It is a cute blanket with several pockets filled with all sorts of hidden treasures, like small race cars. Brady loves it! Julie Winberg, Deacon Jim Knipper, the Prayer Shawl Ministry, and St. Paul’s Roman Catholic Church in Princeton; thank you so much for the beautiful, hand knit, blessed shawl. It truly is a stunning piece of art that has so much meaning behind it. We will treasure it always, thank you. Thank you to Aunt Marilyn, the Snoopy outfit fits him perfectly. We just love the matching Varsity jacket. He looks so cute strutting around in it, thanks so much! Thank you to Aunt Shirley for the wonderful dinner, you are such a great cook, we loved it! It was so nice not to order take out! Thank you to Aunt Barbara and Uncle John for our evening out, it was really needed! You are so generous! Thank you to Madeline, RN and her husband Tito for the singing doggie. Brady loves his new crib companion. He named her “Mattie”. Thank you to Michelle Martin and Marc Rubenstein for organizing blood drives. This takes an enormous amount of time, energy, and volunteers to donate and work the event. We thank you from the bottom of our pumping hearts! Thank you to Mary Ann Sweet, and everyone else who has donated blood and platelets for Brady. I cry every time he gets a transfusion from an anonymous donor. I am so, so grateful. https://www.aabb.org/Content/Donate_Blood/Where_to_Donate/BloodBankLocatorMap.htm Thank you to everyone who has been courageous enough to explore the possibilities of being a potential bone marrow donor for Brady. Three people immediately come to mind; Stephen Wells, Kellie Brockman, and Tony Rinaldi. We are indebted to you! https://www.marrow.org/JOIN/Join_Now/join_now.html Thank you to Brittany Hertis for training really hard to run over 13 miles for the upcoming marathon to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Brittany is running this in honor of Brady. Thank you to everyone who has so generously donated, the list is very long at this point as she has raised $2,300! Her goal is $3,200 and it’s not too late to make a donation on line! [link removed] And lastly, I want to thank every person that has taken the time to write in Brady’s caring bridge journal. Since Brady can’t have visitors, we look forward to reading what our long time friends, family, and new friends have to write. Many people have told us that it is just too difficult or they don’t have the right words. We understand completely, so just sign your name so that we know you’re being updated and thinking about Brady. Please take a moment now to sign Brady’s guestbook… Hugs from our family to yours, Sherrie, Michael, and Brady
All day long and into the night Brady’s temperature has been running 102.8° to 104.8°. He’s been vomiting every hour or so and basically our baby is as sick as a dog. This is the real scary part of his battle with leukemia and tonight we have everyone on alert and could end up in (pediatric intensive care unit) PICU. At this moment, he’s sitting in his crib watching the Haiti Telethon and seems to be into Madonna. It’s been a really tough day for Brady; he apparently has a bacterial infection and it’s knocking him for a loop. The photo says more than I can express about Brady. He is a real sick baby. Both Sherrie and I will be spending the night and keeping a very close watch. I am going to stop writing and ask everyone to close your eyes and just imagine the sweet innocent voice of a sick baby softly crying out; “Ma-Ma Da-Da.” Now please say a prayer for our Brady.
The Hugs for Brady Foundation will ALWAYS be in support of other foundations who allow people to donate blood, platelets, plasma, or register to become a bone marrow donor. However, we no longer ask supporters to donate financially to ‘The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’ as their focus on childhood cancers does not coincide with our foundation’s mission.
“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.