10/25/2009
by Michael Wells It’s Sunday morning and Brady is still sleeping. He had a very good night and slept most of it away. The nurses are already becoming quite attached to him as I overheard a conversation regarding which nurse would be taking care of him. I know he’s my son and I am very bias but that said I must say, “he is just adorable.” He had more chemo last night and thank goodness he did not get sick. Yesterday we were able to get him off his IV pump for an hour and we went for a nice walk to the PSE&G rehab unit. It’s a lovely new building with a beautiful saltwater aquarium. Brady just loves the fish and gets very excited every time we there. The center is closed on weekends so we didn’t have to worry too much about coming into contact with too many people. However, Brady is still required to wear a cover over his mouth every time we go outside of the ward. (see photo). Sherrie went home last night and I hope she gets some sleep, she really needs the rest. I plan to go home tonight and I guess we will try to alternate who stays overnight as much as possible. As nice as everyone is this place is getting very old very fast. Well I’m just rambling on, until next time keep Brady in your thoughts and prayers…I just left the hospital as Brady was receiving his latest round of chemotherapy. He was in great spirits as we had just returned from our nightly walk to the PSE&G Rehab Center’s wonderful fish tank. This saltwater aquarium is simply great. It is a circular tank that’s more like a column and most hold at least 500 gallons of water. We’ve named each of the dozen or so fish and Brady stands on the sill of the tank as I hold him and he bangs on the glass and laughs and laughs. It’s just a beautiful site. Brady latest accomplishment has been shaking his head “No.” Whenever a nurse, med tech or a doctor comes near him, he starts shaking his head side to side and pointing with his finger to the door. I think he’s telling them all to leave. It’s amusing to see this, in particular because the staff here has been just incredible. I cannot begin to say enough positive things about this team of professional health providers. They treat Brady like a member of their own family and go out of their way to make sure we have everything we need to make this situation more tolerable. Sherrie’s Mom and Dad came by this afternoon as they have every day since this ordeal began. I wish we could have more visitors but we are so concerned about keeping Brady as healthy as possible we’ve decided to err on the side of caution and limit visitors to just Grandma and Grandpa. I hope everyone understands this as we must do everything we can to prevent Brady from catching a “bug.” Once again Sherrie and I want to express our deepest and most sincere gratitude for the overwhelming show of love and support. It means the world to us to know so many people are pulling for our son. We’re planning on being home for Thanksgiving with this cancer under control. With your continued support and prayers we will beat this beast!
“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.