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 of chemo drugs is causing Brady all sorts of problems. Right at this moment I cannot remember the name of this crap (cyto something or other) but does it really matter. This drug caused our baby to violently vomit at least 12 times yesterday. This drug required our baby to have a Foley catheter inserted into him and it took 3 attempts before the nurses and doctors were successful. This drug must have been invented by Dr. Mengele for the pain it causes. Brady is not the only one suffering; my beautiful Sherrie is at her wits end. Yesterday Brady was NPO from midnight until noon because he was scheduled to have his broviac catheter replaced, well at noon Dr. Bunin told Sherrie the procedure was pushed back until 5:00pm and the good doctor recommended the procedure be rescheduled for today at noon. This means yesterday’s crying hungry baby was totally unnecessary, this caused the Foley catheter procedure to be conducted while Brady was awake and with very little anesthesia and that change cause just too much pain. This scheduling screw-up also caused a nightmare of a day for Sherrie. I hate hospitals, and I hate this disease more than I ever believed I could hate anything in my life. I am told this is all to be expected as a necessary part of “conditioning chemotherapy.” What a joke to call this hell “conditioning”! Why not call it what it is “intense, painfully, destructive chemotherapy” would be significantly more accurate and descriptive. We have a very, very sick baby and I pray the intense suffering he is experiencing will beat this demonic beast. It’s just about over whelming to watch the pain its causes. Now is the time for your prayers, hugs, and positive thoughts as Brady needs all the help he can get.Finally, Brady had his broviac catheter replaced somewhere around 2:00pm and he was in recovery until after 5:00pm. He is now in his room and after having dinner and several hugs, kisses & many “I love yous,” he is now just about sleeping. Occasionally he is letting out a cry but I think he’s OK or at least I hope he is, as I have the “watch” tonight. Sherrie and her Mom just went back to the Ronald McDonald House for hopefully a good night’s sleep. I got here around 8:00pm to relieve Sherrie and Mom – they both looked fried!!! Today was another trying day for Brady as the “crack” medical team had difficulty finding a vein in Brady’s hand and had to stick and poke around 3 different times before they found a vein. Christ, where is Nurse Saint Mary from RWJU Hospital? She is the only person who had no difficulty performing this procedure. It will amaze me until the day I die why a Children’s Hospital has so much trouble putting an IV line in an enfant. And CHOP is the #1 Children’s Hospital in the entire country, it’s just unbelievable! Brady has one more day using a Foley catheter and as far as I’m concerned it cannot come out fast enough. It’s incredibly painful to see your baby with all these tubes coming in and out of his little body. Added to the craziness is every 30 minutes or so one of the 3 pumps starts beeping or it’s time to take his vitals or it’s time to give him an oral medication or to treat his mouth with some type of antibiotic. And believe it or not all of these events have occurred in just the last hour. Tomorrow is my “Big” day, as I will be giving my stem cells in a rather simple process much like giving platelets. The only difference is the time to donate peripheral blood stems cells is about 4-6 hours. It will be an excellent time to catch up on some reading. Today and tomorrow are also very important days for a few of Brady’s friends: Today Lilly had a scan to see how well she’s doing, tomorrow – Jimmy gets his bone marrow transplant and Lauren is finally going home. Then Thursday is the main event! Brady will receive my stem cells and will start the long healing process. It cannot begin soon enough. Your prayers, hugs and positive thoughts are in high demand and appreciated beyond your wildest imaginations – thank you…
“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.