Today Emily had a pretty bad migraine that had her in bed most of the morning and afternoon. She is still feeling some of the effects of her last Lumbar Puncture (spinal tap). I talked to BYU-I about her just being able to graduate and the consensus among the teachers is that it would be better if she just took "incompletes" as her grade and then over the next 6 months to a year or so, finish her school work. Maybe it's a good thing, maybe it won't work. As of right now we are up in the air. The school has been very good with the whole situation so there are no hard feelings there.
Dr. Hoda came in today and gave us some news. Turns out that they got Emily's bone marrow tests back and it became clearer to them that she has -in a way- both Burkitt's lymphoma and A.L.L.
They have been treating her for just A.L.L. which in all reality is similar to Burkitt's. Thus the drastic improvement so quickly. The question they are asking is, "Will it be enough?"
Option 1: Continue her current treatments and regiment for the next 2.5 to 3 years. She will be in the hospital for a month or so as currently planned and then come back to get treatments every month to a few months. Finishing with oral medication for the remainder of her treatment until declared "Cured".
Option 2: 4 months of intense Chemo and then another 2-4 months of outpatient work.
They will give her intense chemo for a few days, let her go home for a few weeks, then back for intense chemo for a few days, and then back home for a few weeks. and so on until the cancer is gone. Definitely the shorter route. The catches to this one are, it most likely will require a bone marrow transplant. I won't list the cost of one of these on here but if you want to look up the average cost, we will need an allogeneic transplant (meaning from a donor). Ironically enough, this is the only procedure that our current insurances won't cover lol. The other catch is that this also involves radiation which will leave Emily infertile.
Option 2 is the fastest, most effective treatment for a cure but has many obstacles.
Option 1 has a good chance of curing her but will take 3+ years and there is a higher chance she will have to start from ground zero if it ever comes back.
What is important to remember is that there is a cure for what Emily has. Deciding to cure her with option 1 or 2 or even a mixture of both is the difficult part. But she will be ok.
Needless to say, it was a very contrasted day from yesterday. We feel so loved and supported. We don't feel like we are being punished from God or that he has abandoned us at all. We have seen His hand in so many things that it is just incredible how loved and personally cared for we feel. Thank you again to all who pray and think about us and look for ways to help us out.
Jack is awesome. I can't tell you all enough how much joy he brings to Emily and I in such a dark and complicated time. Just looking at his carefree, easy going nature brings us comfort.
We think you should appeal the schools decision. Maybe they don't understand the gravity of what she will be enduring in the next 6 - 12 months. Even though you have a difficult decision ahead of you, I'm thankful that you have different options of treatment, rather than no one knowing what to do at all. Stay strong!
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