Michaela's Valentine's Day -- back in the hospital

 
Well, we were able to enjoy being home from the hospital for a week, but a bacterial infection landed Michaela back at Children's Hospital.  Because she has no immune system right now, any form of infection or virus can be fatal.  So when she spiked a fever above 101 on Valentine's Day, we rushed to the hospital where she was immediately admitted.  The doctors have determined that Michaela has a Strep G infection in her blood, and will need constant IV antibiotics over the next 2 weeks.  Beyond that, they will only allow us to go home when her white blood cell count starts to rise.  Unfortunately, the chemotherapy she receives keeps her white blood cells from growing, so we may be here for quite a long haul. 


We've been so blessed by help from close family and friends who have pitched in to deliver us meals (even in the hospital!) and special gifts and treats for the girls, spend time with Madeline while Jon tries to get to work for a few hours each day and I stay with Michaela in the hospital, and one kind soul even covered our front yard with helium balloons for Valentines Day (picture above).  We are beyond grateful to the folks who are showering us with God's love during this time.  Children's Hospital has now become somewhat of a second home for us.  We are getting to know some of the other families in the cancer ward (some with stories so heartbreaking I find myself standing at the shared refrigerator crying with them).  We are getting to know the regular nurses well.  And we are discovering the best hours to eat in the cafeteria (1-4 a.m.). 


Michaela is doing well considering all that is happening in her little body.  She continues to be weak and exhausted, but she has been very sweet with the nurses and doctors who constantly come by to bother her.  She can't have visitors beyond immediate family, but one of her parents is always with her through the night and day.   I am amazed at her fighting spirit, and she has become my hero.  Big Sis Madeline has been a wonderful support for her sister, and has had a very positive attitude about the change in our family life.  She's enjoying a lot more play dates these days and a lot less school time (other than the anatomy study the whole family is engaged in as we learn more about leukemia).  Baby Werner is doing well through all of this and is due to be born sometime in mid-March.  We are hoping we will be home from the hospital by then, but if not we are getting our contingency plans in place.  


We are relying on God's strength to get through these weeks at the hospital.  We know this is the best place for Michaela, as she can be constantly monitored and cared for by the amazing doctors here.  But the days are long and difficult and we struggle as a family to make sense of all of this.  Nevertheless, we trust in God's faithfulness even through the fire.  For how can we claim that He is good only in times of plenty?  No, He is good ALL the time.  As the song says: 

"Blessed be Your name 
When the sun's shining down on me  
When the world's 'all as it should be'  
Blessed be Your name!  

Blessed be Your name  
On the road marked with suffering 
Though there's pain in the offering 
Blessed be Your name!"

Michaela's fight

On January 30, 2010, our latest family adventure began when four-year-old Michaela Leslie Werner was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia ("ALL").  We were shocked and grieved at this sudden diagnosis, but trusted that God would work through the amazing doctors and staff at Seattle Children's Hospital and bring healing and restoration to her body.  She was immediately admitted to the hospital, where she underwent multiple procedures, received several transfusions, and began intense chemotherapy.  We stayed by her side day and night for a week.  The first victory came after that first week when we learned that the cancerous cells in her blood had gone from 120,000 to zero, making it possible for us to return home February 6 and continue her chemotherapy through the outpatient clinic.  At this point, her immune system is completely depleted as the treatment has also killed her white blood cells, which means that she is at an extremely high risk of contracting illness.  So although we are home, and happy to be here, Michaela is in isolation and not able to continue with her normal activities of playing at the park, going to ballet and drama classes and having playdates with friends.  This isolation is necessary only for this phase of treatment while her blood counts are so low.  If she gets sick, we will automatically be back in the hopsital and her treatment may be compromised.  Although she is weak, tired, and pale, her spirit remains strong and sweet. 

As we look to the weeks, months and years ahead with this illness, we are completely reliant on God's strength to get through each day.  We have faith that He will make Michaela well again, but the sheer magnitude of the journey can be discouraging.  Please keep our family in your prayers.  Pray for healing and protection for Michaela, strength and hope for our family, and ultimate victory over this disease. We have been blown away by the encouragement and support we have received from so many.  Thank you for loving our family so well.

For those who are interested in the treatment phases and prognosis, read on:  Although Michaela's blast count (cancer cells in her blood) is at zero, the disease remains in her bone marrow as well as trace amounts in her spinal fluid.  Our goal for this first phase of treatment ("Induction") is complete remission.  Induction is 5 weeks long, and involves a combination of chemotherapy drugs which we administer both at home orally and by weekly visits to the outpatient clinic.  There, the staff directly inserts medicine into her portacath -- an IV implanted directly into a large vein in her chest -- and occassionally into her spinal fluid through a spinal tap.  Thankfully, Michaela has been a trouper through all of this, even though the side effects of the medicine can be hard. Over the next few weeks, she will probably lose her hair, become nauseated and sick, and feel constantly tired and moody.  It's a lot for anyone to endure, but very difficult to watch your precious child go through it.  If we reach the end of Induction and the cancer is gone, we will continue on to the second phase of treatment ("Consolidation"), an 8-week period of receiving a different combination of chemotherapy drugs with the goal of keeping the cancer from returning.  Beyond these first 3 months, there are several other phases of treatment which will ultimately take over 2 years to complete.  Michaela's team of doctors have told us that overall survival rates for kids at her age who have ALL are 90 percent.  We are VERY encouraged by this.  More pictures from the hospital follow below:

Craft time!

Snuggling with Big Sis Madeline

Sharing fish crackers with daddy

Painting nails with mommy