The gift of life.

Beating cancer. Round two. Day 5.

Yesterday saw some highs and lows.

After receiving his first treatment late Friday, Brady went through the night with sweats and cold chills as the treatment began to break up the leukemia blasts.

After a rough start to Saturday and some much needed rest, he had a great day yesterday. We got to spend a bunch of time with one of our very favorite PICU nurses which was a huge blessing to us.

After almost four days in the PICU, Brady finally got released to the 12th floor late last night. Chris and Nurse Maddy pushed Brady into his new digs on the top floor where he was welcomed by a room full of special touches thanks to his buddy and nurse Kayla.

Within an hour of being in his new room his nose started to bleed again.

It bled and it bled.

We did everything. Pressure. Clotting medicine. A small bag of platelets.

Nothing could get it to stop.

After about 4 hours of pressure, spraying medicine, and changing tissues, I was exhausted and went to bed. Around 1am Chris thought he had finally gotten it to stop and him and Brady drifted to sleep.

We woke up at 4am because Brady needed to go to the bathroom.

That’s when we saw it.

Despite all our efforts his nose had started bleeding again.

The back of his head was soaked in blood.

His pillow and sheet were drenched too.

We got to work cleaning him up and cleaning the bed.

His hemoglobin had dropped to only 6 so he was getting a bag of blood at the time. So we got Brady back to bed and I stayed up to keep watch on his nose.

As soon as his bag of blood finished they hung another, much larger, bag of platelets.

Finally, after seven hours, his nose stopped bleeding.

This is most severe side effect of the new treatment he is receiving, dangerously low platelets.

So many people have asked how they can help and I honestly haven’t known what to say or what to tell them, until this morning.

Friends, there is a desperate situation happening in our country right now.

The supply of blood and platelets is extremely low across the nation.

This puts not only Brady, but every other person fighting a battle like this, in a dangerous situation.

Brady’s levels will remain low throughout this entire treatment. So low that he will likely need infusions of blood and or platelets every day or every other day during the duration of the next month.

So if you are looking for a way to help please would you consider taking time to donate blood or platelets?

If you are a business owner would you consider allowing your employees to be paid for their time while they donate?

Or would you consider hosting a blood drive?

Or if you are unable to donate could you volunteer? They always need help running blood drives and driving trucks collecting and distributing across the city.

Today, Brady needs your help. We, us Martins, need your help.

If we as Americans don’t all start pitching in and taking time to bring more awareness to the massive shortage of blood products in our country, we are going to start losing our children and loved ones.

On more than one occasion we have been in the position where we have gotten the last bag available that was a match to Brady.

And I’m terrified for the day when they have to say “there isn’t any available.”

And friends, that is a reality that isn’t too far off if we don’t all join in to help.

So, would you help us? Would you help the fellow families here battling alongside us? Or the ones in other hospitals across the city and country?

I know it is a time commitment, especially for platelets. I know it is scary for so many. I know it is inconvenient.

But your ability to overcome all of those hurdles in front of you will save lives.

Literally.

Lives like Brady’s.

So please, consider giving of your time and self to help kids like Brady not worry about if there will be enough blood products to keep him alive.

Help him to know that beating cancer is all he has to worry about because the rest of us are doing our part to fully stock the blood banks across the country.

Shields up.

Swords out.

Give the gift of life,

Kristin

“In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

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