03/31/2010 by Michael Wells Another day and yet another diagnosis, today’s disease: Slapped Cheek or Fifth disease. The CDC defines fifth disease as “a mild rash illness that occurs most commonly in children. The ill child typically has a “slapped-cheek” rash on the face and a lacy red rash on the trunk and limbs. Occasionally,… [Read More]
March Journal Entries
8 Years Later—Still No Cure for Pediatric Cancer – 144
03/30/2010 by Michael Wells I left the hospital on Sunday evening with what I thought was a sick baby, I returned Tuesday evening to discover I really didn’t understand exactly what being sick really was. Brady has developed engraftment syndrome (ES). ES is a toxicity of an autologous stem cell transplantation which occurs unexpectedly and… [Read More]
8 Years Later—Still No Cure for Pediatric Cancer – 143
03/29/2010 by Michael Wells Day +9 was another rough day for our baby. Brady continued to spike temperatures, had excessive bleeding (nose & gums) and he vomited everything he consumed. His blood counts continued to be low and so he had another platelet transfusion followed by a transfusion of red blood. He also had Lasix… [Read More]
8 Years Later—Still No Cure for Pediatric Cancer – 142
03/27/2010 by Michael Wells It’s Saturday morning (early) in the “Man-Cave” and thanks to all of your actions Brady is sleeping like the beautiful baby he is. The Rituximab drug was administered yesterday and other than a vomiting episode last night Brady is doing as well as can be expected. I think his vomiting was… [Read More]
8 Years Later—Still No Cure for Pediatric Cancer – 141
03/25/2010 by Michael Wells I got to the hospital late last evening and managed to have a very nice “off-campus” adult conference with Sherrie at a very nice Mexican restaurant. This was made possible by Sherrie’s parents who stayed with Brady as we pondered the pleasure of nectars of the Agave plant. While we were… [Read More]
8 Years Later—Still No Cure for Pediatric Cancer – 140
03/23/2010 by Michael Wells Several people have asked Sherrie and me when will we know the results of Brady’s transplant. We hope to see positive results (his body making white blood cells) within the next 2-3 weeks. But this is just the beginning of a rather long and treacherous journey which Brady has just begun…. [Read More]
8 Years Later—Still No Cure for Pediatric Cancer – 139
03/22/2010 by Michael Wells This is an email I just received from Sherrie and I think is worthwhile sharing: Well, where to begin. Last night Brady kept waking up and crying out in pain. By the time I got out of bed and put the crib rail down he managed to fall asleep again. This… [Read More]
8 Years Later—Still No Cure for Pediatric Cancer – 138
03/21/2010 by Michael Wells It’s early Sunday morning and I’m having trouble trying to find something interesting to write about. This is a rather beautiful feeling and one I pray will last for a very long time. I know that the first few days after a peripheral blood stem cell transplant (BSCT) the doctor call… [Read More]
8 Years Later—Still No Cure for Pediatric Cancer – 137
03/19/2010 by Michael Wells Brady slept most of the day away. He’s in absolutely great spirits. It’s 8 o’clock and still we wait for the good Doctor Bunin to arrive with Brady’s stem cells. Grandma just informed me that Dr. Bunin is right outside our room and things should get underway within minutes. As anticlimactic… [Read More]
8 Years Later—Still No Cure for Pediatric Cancer – 136
03/18/2010 by Michael Wells There are relatively few days in a person’s life that are indelibly marked in the essence of one’s soul; today was one of those for me. I was blessed to be placed in a position to help my son win his battle against cancer. This situation was created by “Mother Nature”… [Read More]
8 Years Later—Still No Cure for Pediatric Cancer – 135
03/17/2010 by Michael Wells What a day! Where do I begin? Well, Brady is doing wonderfully well; little vomiting and his Foley catheter was removed. He’s napping now and from the little I’ve seen him appears to be in great shape. My day on the other hand; celebrated Murphy’s Law as opposed to St. Patrick…. [Read More]
8 Years Later—Still No Cure for Pediatric Cancer – 134
03/16/2010 by Michael Wells I am told one the side effects of the drug I am taking is irritability therefore I have an excuse not to be in a very good mood. I wrote the following entry late last night after speaking with my bride, I hope you will understand my intensity. This latest round… [Read More]
8 Years Later—Still No Cure for Pediatric Cancer – 133
03/15/2010 by Michael Wells What a day! Every once and awhile life sort of throws a few nasty curveballs at you and this weekend we saw more than our fair share. The conditioning chemotherapy is doing exactly what’s it’s supposed to and we have a rather sick baby on our hands. Brady actually had a… [Read More]
8 Years Later—Still No Cure for Pediatric Cancer – 132
03/13/2010 by Sherrie Wells Sherrie’s quick note (as life at CHOP is very busy!) Okay, so the baby was sleeping soundly this afternoon when all of a sudden the world seemed to explode all at once. Let me explain. Brady had simultaneous diarrhea and severe vomiting. We immediately called the nurse and got him into… [Read More]
8 Years Later—Still No Cure for Pediatric Cancer – 131
03/12/2010 by Michael Wells It’s a rainy night in Jersey, I’m sitting home alone doing laundry and bored to tears. I’m not in Philadelphia as tomorrow a visiting nurse is coming to our home to teach me how to give myself injections of Neupogen. This drug is designed to stimulate the blood system (bone marrow)… [Read More]
8 Years Later—Still No Cure for Pediatric Cancer – 130
03/11/2010 by Michael Wells I got home Thursday morning around 7:00am from CHOP and decided I should check the mail before I took a shower and headed off to work. There is a local newspaper the Community Tribune which is mailed to all the homes in South Brunswick and which I usually toss immediately in… [Read More]
8 Years Later—Still No Cure for Pediatric Cancer – 129
03/10/2010 by Michael Wells 11:00pm and Brady is sound asleep. He is now completing day -8 and is half way through the Busulfan phase of conditioning chemo. Starting Saturday he get 2 days of Thiotepa which is a nasty chemo drug and will most likely cause what little hair Brady has to fall out. So… [Read More]
8 Years Later—Still No Cure for Pediatric Cancer – 128
03/09/2010 by Michael Wells Wow! I just sat down to write an entry into Brady’s Journal and the number of visits to his site is 10,002. Just unbelievable and extremely humbling. Our thanks to everyone who is following Brady’s fight and I assure you his ultimate victory over this disease. Not too much to report… [Read More]
8 Years Later—Still No Cure for Pediatric Cancer – 127
03/08/2010 by Michael Wells Well we’re at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and Brady is once again hooked up to an IV pump and once again starting to receive all sorts of medications. Tonight it’s Dilantin, followed by Busulfan every 6 hours for the next 4 days. This is also combined with various prophylactic antibiotics… [Read More]
8 Years Later—Still No Cure for Pediatric Cancer – 126
03/07/2010 by Michael Wells Well as we head into our last day home I am ever so thankful for such a wonderful time we had together as a family. We have been home almost 4 weeks and in that time have managed to see our neighbors, some friends and family. Yesterday, we drove to Connecticut… [Read More]
8 Years Later—Still No Cure for Pediatric Cancer – 125
03/05/2010 by Michael Wells Our “Typical” Day… Michael and Brady are up at the crack of dawn. They start a pot of coffee and get the table ready for breakfast (Brady gets the filter and puts it in). Around 6am Brady will come and get me up to join them, he’s very persuasive when he… [Read More]
8 Years Later—Still No Cure for Pediatric Cancer – 124
03/04/2010 by Michael Wells Brady’s visit to the clinic on Tuesday was totally uneventful. He is doing exceptionally well and everything is set for Monday at CHOP. We have 4 more days at home to enjoy our son and then the very serious phase of his treatment will get underway. He will begin the conditioning… [Read More]
8 Years Later—Still No Cure for Pediatric Cancer – 123
03/02/2010 by Michael Wells Well, we have spent our last Monday evening home for the next couple of months. Brady is just doing incredibly well. Today he is off to the clinic for his weekly check-up and we are expecting nothing but outstanding results. Sherrie and I have done our due-diligence. Brady will be going… [Read More]
8 Years Later—Still No Cure for Pediatric Cancer – 122
03/01/2010 by Michael Wells Another Great week end and one more to go! Brady is doing extremely well and it hurts to think we have to start the craziness all over again next Monday. This weekend we had to run (and I do mean run) into the mall to get Brady a couple of… [Read More]