06/22/2010
by Sherrie Wells This morning Brady had a 102.2 fever. He is being treated with antibiotics and Tylenol. He was monitored closely throughout the night, which was very rough for him. He has a hard time getting comfortable as he now has several wires connected to his chest, a pulse ox on his toe, and a blood pressure cuff on his arm. The doctor just told me that the blood cultures taken yesterday came back positive for “gram positive cocci in chains”. They suspect that he has a bacterial infection, probably the same type he had in November, called streptococcus viridans. This makes his skin hurt and his muscles/joints ache. He screams when I go to change his diaper. He does not want to be touched. His skin is also peeling and sloughing off in some areas. This is due in part to the graft versus host disease and in part to the powerful chemo treatment he just had. The high fevers should last about six or seven days and the only treatment is good old fashioned Tylenol. He is still on the schedule for his bone marrow biopsy in the morning with Dr. Weiss, however, it might be canceled. This will be determined in the morning by the anesthesiologist, Dr. McRea. If she feels that Brady is stable and that he will not endure any complications due to respiratory issues then Brady will have the surgery. We were fortunate enough this afternoon to be able to take a one hour break from all of his medicines and Brady was unhooked from all machines and pumps. I quickly got him dressed, put him in his wagon and we went downstairs to the new playground, fever and all. When we arrived he said “WOW”. It was so worth it. I treasure these moments… We have so many people to thank…- To Wendy and Rick, who through a chain of people, sent us a piece of a garment worn by St. Edmund Arrowsmith. They had pinned this small piece of fabric to their son’s blanket while he was in the hospital with cancer. Now, he is a healthy young man. Thank you for all of your trouble and for entrusting us with this relic. It is attached to Brady’s crib, right over his precious little head.
- For the several Mass cards that we have received, most recently from Aunt Gail and Mary.
- Thank you to everyone that is participating in a prayer chain, it spans the world at this point!
- For the caring visits from the clergy of RWJH, Ann and Intern Dan.
- To the 319 registered visitors to Caring Bridge that have read his entries over 16,556 times!
- To the 116 families that are getting automatic updates on a daily basis!
- To the 128 families that have signed Brady’s guestbook over 1000 times! We urge anyone that has not signed to do so as it is very uplifting to Michael and me, especially at 2am!
- To the many people that are doing things behind the scenes that wish to remain anonymous, you are wonderful and caring people and we are fortunate to have you in our lives.
- To Mr. Steve Jones for taking the time and energy to understand the seriousness of pediatric cancer and what the patients and families have to endure. On behalf of the 30+ pediatric oncology patients at your hospital every day, we thank you from the bottom of our heart.
- To the nurses, tech’s, and doctors that took such great care of Brady last night and helped all of us get through a very rough night! You’re the best.
- To Lori and everyone at the Foundation for putting the Hugs for Brady Fund on the Robert Wood Johnson website, it’s amazing! View it at [link removed]
- To Kristine, a tech that fell in love with Brady in October, for one-on-one playtime yesterday (sorry he wasn’t feeling better).
- To everyone that has contacted Brittany to ask her if they could help SELL 50/50’s, several friends, Jersey Physical Therapy, and Kiddie Academy of Kendall Park, you are amazing!
- To Kelly for your extremely generous donation to the Hugs for Brady Fund and for your help and inspiration on a personal level. You are a remarkable woman and we can’t wait to meet you!
- To the many people that have visited and made on line donations at Brady’s new web site, HUGSFORBRADY.ORG. It means the world to us that you want to join us to make a difference for these children!
“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.