Isaiah's Journey

Isaiah on the Lake

"I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears". Psalm 34:4


Isaiah was diagnosed on October 31, 2000 with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (w/Philadelphia Chromosome - Very High Risk) and relapsed in the Central Nervous System on July 22, 2002. On November 26, 2002 Isaiah received an unrelated cord blood stem cell transplant at Duke Medical Center, Durham, NC.
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Journal

Tuesday, June 9, 2009 8:58 AM CDT

It‘s the end of another school year! Where did the time go?!

In April, for Spring break we went to Duke for Isaiah’s medical tests and some neuro psych testing. It was a quick decision to take care of things right away even though it was about 6 months prior to his 7-year post-transplant anniversary. Can that be—almost 7 years? Did I mention that Isaiah LOVES to go to Duke Medical Center and North Carolina in general! He could hardly wait to get on the road.

All the testing went very well and we were very happy with good results. Our follow up now is here in Ann Arbor (endocrinology and some monthly hormone shots). Still on magnesium and daily vitamins.

The real bonus on our trip was that we were able to do some visiting. Our family went together on another short road trip. It was good. We spend time with the Schwab family who came for Alex’s appointment. It was perfect timing and we were able to spend a few precious hours together. Bowling and arcade games were the high point!

We also had a chance to visit some of our dear friends down south. We saw Isaiah’s best buddy Carrie and her family –which now includes a beautiful little girl who turned 1 right then! We got a chance to visit the Horton’s –one of the cutest couples ever!! Another high point was visiting Sal’s niece Jessica and her darling 15-month old daughter Alyssa. Jessica insisted that Isaiah have a large “Elmo” and Isaiah enjoyed showing the stuffed Elmo some of the sights….pictures will follow…

We returned home and tried get that “second wind” to finish out the school term on a high note. Unfortunately, it’s push, push, push. Is it only our kids that need to be pushed?

Isaiah had the opportunity to go to Washington D.C. with his 8th grade class. It was a fantastic trip and I wish that I could have tagged along as it sounded so interesting and fun! I worried a bit about his stamina as it was a fast pace every day and mornings came very early! He seemed to keep up quite well. I admit, we were a little worried that they were all away during the initial outbreak of the swine flu. I figured however that the chances were slim that they would pick it up since there were no reported cases in that area at the time. Isaiah came home and was, as expected, exhausted but also exhilarated by the experience of the week.

He mentioned casually that he had some stomach trouble but it seemed to be getting better by the evening. The next day (after arriving home), he started running a temp and felt worse and worse as the day went on. He was feeling so bad that we almost went to emergency that evening. I knew that there would be a long wait in ER --and who knows who he would be exposed to there. We decided to just wait out the night and see how things were in the morning. They appeared to be better. . But, by Monday things were still not better and we went to see the Dr. that day. They took a swab. He tested negative for the swine flu but positive for para-flu. Well, I can only say that the symptoms of the swine flu could not have been much worse that what he had. He was one sick boy and spent 8 days in bed. His temp went past 104 and continued to climb. Isaiah was getting a little nervous. To reassure him as he was obviously sick and worried we called Dr. K at Duke. It was night time and, bless her heart, she answered right away. She gave a suggestion about what to do and it worked. (Increase the pain relievers considerably). Isaiah felt reassured that he would be O.K. and that this constant temp and chills was part of the diagnosis. I was fretting (heard that word lately?) that he was now even more behind in school and that he would never be able to catch up by the end of the school year. He was also ill before the Washington trip and missed a lot of days then too. The teachers have been wonderful and gave him a few breaks –and he has finally caught up just in time for the end of the school year.

Mishael has finished the rugby season and we are so relieved that there were not emergency room visits but we wonder if he suffered a broken nose. He enjoyed the season immensely and sure has a passion for it –where did that come from??

Tomorrow is the last day of school…should I be happy about it? Well sort of. Let’s see…there are a number of camps coming up…Mishael and I plan to hang out downtown Ann Arbor and check out our favorite consignment store and other stores. Isaiah is looking forward to wake boarding…minor problem, -- we don’t have a boat…Guess it’s time to make some memories and take a break from being the “home-work” police and thinking of what to make for lunch everyday!

Thank you for still thinking of us and checking in on us. Please let us know that you stopped by. Have a great summer!! New pictures coming soon! God Bless you.

Read Journal History

Hospital Information:

Hurley Medical Center
One Hurley Plaza
Flint, MI 48503-5993

Links:

E-mail Author: pat.bingham@charter.net

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