10/31/2009 by Michael Wells My poor baby is being poked at once again: eye drops! He’s back sleeping and it’s just about as nice as it can be. I truly love this time of day; it’s so quiet, so calm, and so nice. It had to be a little more hectic a dyslexic 36 years… [Read More]
October Journal Entries
8 Years Later—Still No Cure for Pediatric Cancer – 19
10/30/2009 by Michael Wells Friday night and so far all is relatively calm. This is our date night; for the past 4 years Sherrie and I made it a ritual to go out every Friday night even if it was just a walk around the neighborhood. In less than 3 weeks my how things have… [Read More]
8 Years Later—Still No Cure for Pediatric Cancer – 18
10/29/2009 by Michael Wells Wow, what a day! Sherrie figuratively “hit the wall” and had to go home for some much needed rest. Hopefully, I can convince her to take the next couple of nights off as well. To add to the excitement, Brady decided he was a skydiver and needed to pull his ripcord…. [Read More]
8 Years Later—Still No Cure for Pediatric Cancer – 17
10/28/2009 by Michael Wells Brady’s MRI and PICC catheter insertion surgery went well. We don’t have the results from the MRI but we’re confident everything will be just fine. Brady is turning into a quite a hit with all the teenagers on the floor and one in particular (Jacklyn). She has been supplying him with… [Read More]
8 Years Later—Still No Cure for Pediatric Cancer – 16
10/27/2009 by Michael Wells It’s raining cats and dogs my son is sleeping and today was a very good day. No MRI today rescheduled for tomorrow along with the replacement of his PICC catheter. I don’t have too much to write about today and I actually feel very good about that. I’m sitting here eating… [Read More]
8 Years Later—Still No Cure for Pediatric Cancer – 15
10/26/2009 by Michael Wells Today is just about over and that’s about the best thing I can say about it. A tough one for both Sherrie and Brady; Brady’s next procedure will be an MRI to take a look at the possibility of tumors behind his eyes. I have been told this is for base-lining… [Read More]
8 Years Later—Still No Cure for Pediatric Cancer – 14
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… [Read More]
8 Years Later—Still No Cure for Pediatric Cancer – 13
10/24/2009 by Michael Wells Brady is enjoying his morning bottle of milk while lying in his crib with all of his friends. Woof-Woof the dog is sitting next to him protecting him from the numerous Nurse Ratchet’s of the world with their thermometers, blood pressure machines, eye drops and nasty tasting drugs. Last night was… [Read More]
8 Years Later—Still No Cure for Pediatric Cancer – 12
10/23/2009 by Michael Wells Brady is back in the hospital and it feels like we never left. He has been diagnosed with ALL/AML with most likely his own sub-type but very close to AML sub-type M04. All of this means is he is a very sick baby with a very rare illness. He has (I… [Read More]
8 Years Later—Still No Cure for Pediatric Cancer – 11
10/22/2009 by Michael Wells We had a truly wonderful evening! Brady, Sherrie and I went for a twilight walk on a beautiful Indian-summer day. Brady in his backpack with his red hat on calling out woof-woof at every dog he saw. We came home and gave Brady a bath in which he splashed and laughed…. [Read More]
8 Years Later—Still No Cure for Pediatric Cancer – 10
10/21/2009 by Michael Wells Brady got home tonight just in time for dinner. He had a very special dinner consisting on pizza and ice cream. He is sleep now and we are just so happy to have him home… “8 Years Later—Still No Cure for Pediatric Cancer” is a series of posts revisiting the journal… [Read More]
8 Years Later—Still No Cure for Pediatric Cancer – 9
10/20/2009 by Michael Wells Brady is trying and I do mean trying to sleep. It’s 4:00am and the Bear is having a tough time. The nurse just came into his room to draw blood. Another CBC (complete blood count) and to check his electrolytes; I’m not sure if he has any blood left to check…. [Read More]
8 Years Later—Still No Cure for Pediatric Cancer – 8
10/19/2009 by Michael Wells Today was Brady’s best day! His temperature continues to be normal and other than a blood transfusion he is in great spirits. He is currently in his crib having a good night bottle and making all sorts of wonderful noises. Sherrie is home tonight as she needs a good night sleep…. [Read More]
8 Years Later—Still No Cure for Pediatric Cancer – 7
10/18/2009 by Michael Wells Platelet count continues to be a nemesis with Brady’s fight. A nasty byproduct of low platelet count is severe bruising and Brady is not lacking in this department. He looks likes he’s gone 10 rounds with Muhammad Ali while being blind-sided by Lawrence Taylor. He has a horrible bruise under him… [Read More]
8 Years Later—Still No Cure for Pediatric Cancer – 6
10/17/2009 by Michael Wells I have been up since 3:30 can’t sleep with all the people coming and going in and out of Brady’s room. Well it’s Saturday morning and I’m sitting in my son Brady’s hospital room after a lovely night of sleep on the rack. This is the time of day I love… [Read More]
8 Years Later—Still No Cure for Pediatric Cancer – 5
10/16/2009 by Michael Wells Brady is sleeping and after 2 rounds of chemo appears to be headed in the right direction. His temperature has been under 100 for more than 24 hours and this is the first full day his temp is back to somewhat normal in over 2 weeks. I can only hope this… [Read More]
8 Years Later—Still No Cure for Pediatric Cancer – 4
10/14/2009 by Michael Wells It’s been 2 days since my 13 month old son Brady Michael was diagnosed with Leukemia. Since the moment my wife and I were told our lives have been turned upside down and inside out. It’s taking all of my strength to stay focused, alert and clear headed. My son came… [Read More]
8 Years Later—Still No Cure for Pediatric Cancer – 3
10/13/2009 by Michael Wells My personal thanks for the overwhelming outpouring of love and well wishes for our son Brady, it means more than I can possibly express. Brady has had a very stressful day receiving another lumbar puncture, another bone marrow biopsy, a picc catheter surgically inserted into his arm and his first regiment… [Read More]
8 Years Later—Still No Cure for Pediatric Cancer – 2
10/12/2009 by Michael Wells We have some terrible news to share; our wonderful son Brady has been diagnosed with Leukemia. We don’t yet know the exact type of Leukemia but we do know it is treatable and most importantly can be completely cured 80-90% of the time. Brady is resting in the Pediatric Hematology/Oncology section… [Read More]
8 Years Later—Still No Cure for Pediatric Cancer – 1
10/11/2009 by Michael Wells Things with Brady are going from bad to worst. His platelet count continues to drop and is now at 20,000 from yesterday count of 88,000. While we are still being told it’s most likely a virus they have scheduled a bone marrow biopsy for 7:00am tomorrow to rule out things that… [Read More]
8 Years Later—Still No Cure for Pediatric Cancer – Introduction
Dear Family and Friends, Did you ever ask yourself, does a journey really ever end? The word journey is used for many things; a trip, a path you’ve chosen to take in your life, a relationship. For me, journey is a bittersweet word that brings me both joyful memories, and painful reminders of a devastating… [Read More]