Desperate.
Beating cancer. Round 2.
Yesterday I heard the dreaded words, again.
Yesterday I had to share the news with Chris, again.
Yesterday with teared filled eyes I had to tell Brady, again.
Yesterday one of my greatest fears came true.
Yesterday we learned Brady’s leukemia was back. And with a vengeance.
Yesterday was full of more questions than answers.
Yesterday the doctors on Brady’s team were as devastated and shocked as we were.
Yesterday was awful, but the sun set on yesterday and today was a new day.
A new day to try to make sense of where we find ourselves.
A new day to try to find a road forward.
A new day to celebrate that all of his X-rays were clean showing no sign of tumors or masses showing up anywhere else.
A new day to see the freckles on his nose and sun kissed highlights in his hair.
A new day for being grateful for each and every second we have together.
Today we learned Brady’s leukemia has come back with a new marker. A marker that is going to hopefully allow us to give him a targeted therapy to get his leukemia to a controlled level to allow us to pursue a new course of treatment.
We still have many questions on what the road ahead looks like but we now have a rough “ideal”.
Unfortunately we will remain in the PICU for a few more days before headed to the 12th floor. Ideally we will only be here at NCH for 10 days to start.
Brady will receive therapy to get him to a place where he is safe to go home. In a few weeks they will harvest T cells from him in preparation of a CAR-T therapy protocol. This therapy takes the T cells from Brady and trains them how to fight the markers found on his leukemia. They will then give the “fighter” T cells back to Brady.
The hope and prayer is that these cells will be armed and equipped to find and destroy every cell that has the cancer marker on it.
The ideal is that Brady’s new fighter cells are able to fight these cancer cells and he remains cancer free forever.
The not ideal is that the therapy ends up only being a bridge to a second bone marrow transplant.
Today Brady received a new PICC line so they can begin treatment as soon as some more test results are confirmed.
As I watched him there laying on the table in that procedure room it was so hard to believe this is where we find ourselves today.
Desperate.
Desperate for answers.
Desperate for solutions.
Desperate for care.
Desperate for healing.
Desperate for a miracle.
Sitting here next to him at the end of day two of this second, and critical, round of cancer I find myself with peace.
I scared, don’t get me wrong. Well actually, I’m terrified. I’ve seen the concern and worry on the eyes of his doctors as they saw just how fast this has happened, but I have peace.
The Lord placed this scripture on our heart from the beginning and it feels so incredibly perfect for where we are.
Every part of me is being armed with strength for the battle.
Every part.
Every single part.
Every single cell.
So as we prepare over these next several weeks I’m going to pray. I’m praying that every single cell they take will be armed with strength for the battle.
Every. Single. Cell.
This next battle is going to be fierce. It is going to be hard. It is going to be met with sacrifice and hardship. It is going to see us exhausted and depleted.
But we have been armed.
We have been renewed.
We have been strengthened.
We are ready.
Cancer, you picked the wrong family.
Shields up.
Swords out.
Armed and ready,
Kristin
“Sing a little louder
In the presence of my enemies
Sing a little louder
Louder than the unbelief
Sing a little louder
My weapon is a melody
Sing a little louder
Heaven comes to fight for me
Sing a little louder
I'm gonna sing in the middle of the storm
Louder and louder, you're gonna hear my praises roar
Up from the ashes hope will arise
Death is defeated, the King is alive”
#waytobattle#waytobattleBrady#bravelikebrady#leukemiawarrior#relapse#hopewillarise#everysinglecell#armedwithstrength