12/01/2009
by Michael Wells I don’t know where to begin other than to say this has not been a good day. It has lived up to every thing Sherrie and I have been dreading for the past several weeks. Brady’s cancer is not in remission. The bone marrow biopsy results have blasts ranging between 5 to 7%. While this is not where we hoped the results of the first round of chemotherapy would have Brady it is far better than the 27% blasts present in Brady before we started chemo. To truly make this a day we will long remember is the reaction Brady had to his surgery. For some reason Brady has been intermittently bleeding from the 3 surgical punctures required for today’s procedures. He has had his bandages changed at least 6 times today and it’s not a pleasant exercise. In fact, it’s very scary to see an infant sitting in his high chair in a puddle of blood. I thought I was going to pass out. So, for the second time today Brady is being given FFP (Fresh Frozen Plasma) to control the bleeding. If this doesn’t work, it will be a trip to PICU (pediatric intensive care unit) by morning. As I said, it’s been a day to remember! Tomorrow, Sherrie and I are off to CHOP (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia) to discuss the feasibility of a bone marrow transplant. It is becoming more obvious we will be going down this path unless 2 things occur; one – we cannot find a match and/or secondly, Brady’s cancer is in remission after this round of chemo. Regardless, of either of these two possibilities we need to vet the transplantation team at CHOP to make a somewhat intelligent decision. Today has without a doubt been a day to remember and one I would prefer to forget. Brady throughout this ordeal continues to smile, laugh and be just an amazing kid. And tonight his reward is 2 more rounds of chemotherapy, some time life just isn’t too fair! Tonight more than ever, Brady needs your thoughts, hugs and prayers…“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.