Sunday, September 30, 2007 - I found out this week that a lovely young woman at my office had leukemia when she was 10. Now in her early twenties, she won a very difficult battle with AML and is completely cancer-free. Hearing her success story was uplifting, but this is the amazing part: Dr. Ebb and Dr. Friedmann were her oncologists, and she had her long inpatient stay in... Ellison 1816.
Dr. Ebb came by the hospital room today, and I told him about my friend at work. He remembered her perfectly, of course, and described what a wonderful young woman she was and still is. Her success is inspiring, and makes us all smile.
Test results in hand, Dr. Ebb told us that Mady's blood has 0.3 % white blood cells. This is still quite low, but within a range that they don't find unusual. Her white cells fight infection, and there are too few to be of much help in the real germ-infested world. If all had gone perfectly, there was a possibility that she could've gone home in a few days, but he said that the test indicates that she will probably be an inpatient for at least another week. A bit of disappointment there.
The Boston weather was beautiful once again, and we had another nice long walk today... and I SWEAR that we stayed on the MGH grounds. In our travels we discovered a huge bronze sundial that we hadn't seen before. We soaked up a little sun, had a couple of coffees (Mady likes decaf with cream, no sugar, and a just a touch of hot chocolate), and then headed back up to Ellison 1816 for some good karma.
Day 21: An amazing Ellison 1816 success story
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4 comments:
That is a very cool sundial. And I believe you - MGH has large grounds.
That is so amazing, that you're dad's work buddy had your room...I mean, if that isn't good luck, or some sort of good sign, then signs and luck don't exist. And they do, so this must be some sort of good luck thing.
And please forgive the somewhat confusing babbling.
~~Stephanie~~
Hi
We are following with you every day. And we have now ordered our "Cancer Sucks" bracelets and will wear them for as long as it takes....
Carlee, Steve and Joel Feske
My cousin had leukemia as a child and she also has turned into an amazing woman with 4 beautiful children. She now runs marathons and is superwoman!!She lives in Mass and would be a great person to lift you up.
Her name is Erin and I will send you her email..
Andrew and I are keeping your whole gang in our prayer because treatment is tough for everyone but especially you. What a brave young lady!! We will order "cancer sucks" bracelets and send you positive thoughts. You can ask mom and dad who we are. I am Robert Carroll's daughter-in-law, Kristin. You dad's cousin, Andrew, is my husband. Got it?? Confusing but hope you know that we love you and wish you feeling well quickly.
love,
Kristin Carroll
Hah.
Imagine the odds of that!
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