Olivia has been doing very well for the last eleven months.  She turned 16 years old on September 27^th and has been enjoying life.   She looks great and feels great.   Unfortunately, looks can be deceiving and on September 24 our worst fears were confirmed that Olivia had relapsed!  

            On September 17, 2008, Olivia returned for her quarterly follow-up oncologist’s appointment and we received some unfortunate news.  Dr. told us that he was concerned about what he had seen when he tested her blood.  Although he was not 100% sure, he felt that possibly he was seeing some Leukemia cells.  In order to ensure whether he was correct in what he had seen in her blood work he would need to perform a bone marrow aspiration and biopsy which he performed the following morning.  The results confirmed his fears although the Leukemia is in the very early stages.  

            As you can imagine, from the 17^th until we received the actual results a week later, Olivia, mom, dad, and sisters were very distraught and at times not wanting to accept the unfortunate news.  Olivia has had mixed feelings from ready to fight and sometimes confused as to why she has to battle this illness again?  After a couple of days of being in denial we finally accepted the news and we knew that we had to be supportive for Olivia and try to understand her feelings and the battle she has in front of her.  For Olivia, just as she did the first time around she is ready to battle and win her fight for her life.   

Olivia’s oncologist informed us on what steps would be necessary to cure her which would include her receiving a bone marrow transplant.  The good news is that we knew from her first bout with Leukemia that both of her sisters were a match.  Her oncologist informed us that moving forward we would now be under the care of her transplant doctor, Dr. Grimley.  We met with Dr. Grimley and his staff and he gave us the road map to Olivia’s recovery.  Also, extensive testing was performed on her sisters, Julia and Henrianna, to find out which of them would be the best match for Olivia.  After several tests, the doctor determined that Julia would give Olivia the best opportunity for a full recovery.    

Dr. Grimley has been preparing Olivia and her body for the upcoming transplant.   She has gone through many extensive tests and he has concluded that Olivia is at her best health that she can be.   This is a huge plus for her recovery.  

On October 6, Olivia underwent surgery to place her central line for easier access to administer medication and the chemotherapy.   Although the road map to cure Olivia has changed about three different times since the initial meeting which has made for very anxious moments for all of us, below is what we know as of October 7^th.  Olivia will receive radiation treatment for six days which will focus on killing the leukemia cells in her spinal fluids.  Beginning on Thursday, October 9^th she will go for radiation treatment on an out patient basis.  Thursday, Friday, and Monday they will perform radiation treatment aimed at her cranium, more specifically her brain.  Tuesday and Wednesday they will perform full body radiation treatment twice a day.  After all these treatments Olivia will be allowed to go home, however, she will be confined at home since her immune system will be susceptible and infections can create big problems for Olivia.  The doctor has informed us that nausea and vomiting is to be expected from the radiation treatments however, they will try and limit this effect as much as possible by administering medication.  Additionally, the radiation treatment will make Olivia feel extremely tired to the point of making it difficult to return for her second treatment when she will attend her two-a-day treatments.  Olivia has been concerned about the loss of her hair and the doctor has informed us that yes she will lose her hair again.

On Thursday, October 16^th, she will go for her last full body radiation treatment and then she will be admitted to the hospital and prepare for chemotherapy the following morning.  She will undergo chemo Friday and Saturday and on Monday, October 20^th the bone marrow transplant will take place.  As for Julia this will be and outpatient procedure.  She will experience much discomfort on her back area where the bone marrow will be extracted.   She should be back to normal in a few days.  

            Once Olivia’s blood counts have recovered and proper evaluation of the compatibility between Julia’s bone marrow and Olivia’s body she will be allowed to go home, this should be roughly four to six weeks after the bone marrow transfer.  When Olivia does return home, she will be as she likes to state it “under house arrest”.  She will only be allowed to leave home to attend doctor appointments and even at that she will have to wear a mask to help reduce the risk of catching a bug, literally.  Doctor told us that her home arrest will be for as little as three months to as long as eight to ten months depending on how long it takes for Julia’s bone marrow to develop in Olivia and perform independently.  Consequently, we have decided that this time around Olivia will receive home schooling as oppose to trying to keep up with her studies independently as she did at the end of her freshman and beginning of her sophomore years.  Although, Olivia’s instructors were very helpful, it was very difficult for Olivia to keep up.  Olivia was very disappointed that she would not be able to complete a full year at Holy Cross, but understood the challenge she would be up against remaining enrolled at Holy Cross.

            As in the past, we thank all who have asked about Olivia’s well being and for those who continue to keep her in your thoughts and prayers.  This means a lot to mom, dad, sisters, and especially Olivia.  The next few months will be very difficult on all of us, but we keep our faith and understand that Olivia will go through some very rough days/weeks/months but she will recover and soon be able to go back to living a normal teenager’s life again.

            Please keep Julia in your prayers as well as she prepares to become Olivia’s bone marrow donor.   

            Despite Olivia’s relapse we consider ourselves still very blessed that the leukemia was detected in its very early stages, that both her sisters were bone marrow matches and that Olivia has a great attitude.