char2mar
Well-known member
I haven't posted in a awhile because my life has been recently turned upside down. Last Tuesday, December 6, 2005, my 21 year old niece went into labor. Happy day, until she was diagnosed with acute leukemia 3 hours before she delivered a healthy 6 lbs, 4 oz baby boy. When admitted into hospital she had a complete blood count and various other lab test done to ensure she was healthy, her doctor was totally mortified when he got the results of her CBC. Her white blood cell count was sky high and her hemoglobin was critically low as well as her platelets. She has a very high blast cell count so they knew right away that she had cancer. There was fear that she would bleed to death during delivery and they had to decide which was the safer route, a cesarean or natural delivery. They opted for natural delivery. My niece was a trooper and delivered Zachary without any pain meds. She tore during delivery and the doctor had a difficult time stopping the bleeding. Rachel, my niece, was able to nurse her new baby for a total of 20 minutes before she was told that she will never be able to nurse Zach again. They quickly gave her meds to help stop the bleeding and to increase platelet production. These meds could potentially harm the baby so poor Zach was now on the bottle. Rachel spent the night in the delivery room because they still couldn't get the bleeding under control. Later that night an oncologist came in and explained to us that Rachel indeed had leukemia and that first thing in the morning they would be transferring her to the Cancer center in Calgary. They discharged Zach when he was not even 18 hrs old to the care of my sister and rushed Rachel by ambulance to the Tom Baker Cancer Clinic. That very day they did numerous test and a bone marrow biopsy. That night they had a official diagnosis. Rachel has acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). They started her on chemo the very next day. The really sad thing about this is that she cannot have Zachary in her room, her twenty month old daughter Brooke is not allowed to see her either except off the ward, providing that Rachel is well enough to see her. Rachel's husband is a basket case. He is only 24 and is now facing a very long road ahead of him. He can't afford to quit work and stay in Calgary to be with his wife. My sister (twin) is taking care of Zach and is trying to work from home at the same time. (she is staying with a close friend who lives near the Cancer Center). Everyday between 3 and 5 pm she takes Zach to the hospital to see Rachel. The hospital has made an exception for Zach and Rachel so they can spend some time together. They move her to a special room off the ward that is not being used between those hours and let Rachel bond with Zach while she gets her chemo. On the weekend Simon, Rachel's husband brings Brooke into town to see her mother for about 20 minutes. My other niece, Elizabeth quit her job to take care of Brooke. Its all so sad. Rachel's prognosis is questionable. They are waiting for DNA test results to come back to see what sub group of bone marrow cancer she has, so they can give her the best type of chemo for that group. The plan is to induce remission from the first round of chemo. They give her a 3 week break and do another bone marrow biopsy. If she is in remission then they continue with chemo every month for the next 6 months or so. If they were not able to induce remission the first go around then she will have to have a bone marrow transplant. Good news is that Rachel has two sisters (they have to be tested to see if they are good candidates for bone marrow donor) Bad news is that this procedure is risky. They have to totally wipe out the good and bad cells leaving Rachel with no immune system. She will require numerous blood transfusions and platelet transfusions. The side effects from the chemo will be brutal. I want to cry every time I think about this. I just can't believe that this can be happening. This whole family is being effected by this disease. Its going to be a long hard road ahead. I hope and pray that Rachel beats this and can go on to see her kids grow up and live a productive healthy live. Right now, I don't see much light at the end of the tunnel but I need some prayers for Rachel and her family to help them stay strong.
Char
Char
