06/08/2010
by Michael Wells Oh what a day! After 3 different chemo protocols were presented to us, Brady medical team has decided on the following drugs: Clofarabine and Cytarabine. Brady has been given the Cytarabine before but the Clofarabine is new to him and is some real nasty stuff. Brady will be receiving his Chemo for the next 5 days and within 72 hours (3 days) we will have an idea of just how this drug regiment is working. The goal is to have everything in Brady’s bone marrow wiped out. This is critical if Brady is going to have a fighting chance to beat this horrible disease. Today started out on a rather challenging note; Brady was having a little difficulty breathing and at one point Dr. Murphy wanted to have him transferred to Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). Sherrie and I do not want to go to the PICU one minute earlier than absolutely necessary and Sherrie was wonderful as she basically challenged the good Dr. Murphy with her maternal logic and passion. Needless to say, Brady is still resting quite comfortably in his room on the 2nd floor in the Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Unit. Mom ROCKS!!! Another Mom who rocks is Lilly’s Mom Gerri. Gerri is a whirlwind of energy and drive to raise money and awareness to beat pediatric cancer. Lilly is recovering from Ewing’s Sarcoma and on Sunday, June 13th will be leading the annual “A Walk in The Park” at Six Flags in Jackson, NJ. These events are taking place all over the country and has raised over $48,000 with an ultimate goal of $100,000. A childhood friend of Sherrie’s (Jennifer Balerno) has put together a team to raise money. Jennifer has named her team, The Brady Bunch in honor of our son. If you would like to help out a very worthwhile cause, please read what Jennifer has to say:Dear Friend, I could use your help. As some of you know, our friends, Sherrie and Michael Wells have a little boy, Brady, battling Biphenotypic Acute Leukemia (BAL). I’ve decided to form a team to honor Brady Wells, and raise awareness for pediatric cancer in the 2010 “A Walk In The Park” event at Six Flags Great Adventure. The walk is being held on Sunday, June 13, 2010 from 9am – 10:30am. I am hoping that you will join my team and our efforts to raise funds to help find a cure. 100% of the funds raised will stay in our local community to help children battling cancer. I know it is last minute, but we need seven more people to help form our team. Our team fundraising goal is $500. Every team member will help bring us closer to finding a cure! If you would like to be part of my team, please search for the team name (The Brady Bunch) at: [link removed] and you can register through the team page. From here you can also find more info on the walk. Each team member that raises $50 will receive a free ticket to stay all day in the park! If you can’t join me, you can still help by sponsoring my participation in this event. To make an online donation please search for my name at: [link removed] and then click “support this participant”. Thank you, Jennifer Balerno Join This Team!I just went on line and to date Jennifer’s Team (The Brady Bunch) has raised more than $700.00. Thank you Jennifer and every one of your wonderful team members. Brady’s first dose of Clofarabine is about to arrive, this will be followed 4 hours later with Cytarabine. The next 3 days are critical to Brady’s outcome, please keep him in your thoughts, honor him by hugging someone special and pray, please pray more than you ever have.
“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.