Fight the Fight for Brinley
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https://www.facebook.com/brintleythebrave/
Brinley is a sweet 6 year old girl who started her journey as Brinley the Brave at the sweet age of 4 when she was diagnosed with AML (a form of leukemia). Our only sign that she was so sick was some excessive bruising on her legs and arms. She was immediately admitted to the hospital for more testing and confirmation of diagnosis. She was transferred to Mott’s children's hospital in Ann Arbor, MI where she had surgery for a central line placement and started her treatment with chemotherapy that same night. She underwent 3 out of 4 scheduled rounds of chemotherapy and was able to reach remission following the first round.
During recovery of the third round of chemotherapy she experienced cardiomyopathy, a condition where the left side of her heart does not squeeze. She was immediately taken to the pediatric ICU where she was placed on two cardiac drips that would pump her heart for her so her body could rest and get some fluid off of it. Her heart, thankfully, recovered fairly quickly and well. She now has to take several heart medications to help remodel her heart as she grows but she now has normal function. Because her heart started failing after the third round of chemotherapy they could not give her the scheduled fourth round of chemotherapy as it would likely kill her. She, instead, received a different round of chemotherapy they used to give AML in the past, which she only made it halfway through that round of chemotherapy due to contracting Influenza A and it was determined the remainder of chemotherapy may cause more harm then good.
She was released home cancer-free on February 8th of 2015 after 117 days spent in the hospital. She had her central line removed three months later and enjoyed life as a normal child for approximately ten months. We received news of relapse and that her awful cancer had reared its head again on November 21st 2016. Prior to this relapse Brinley was helping us swing some hammers while starting our very own remodel in a old farm house near the Fenton area. We had decided to move from the Hemlock area to put Brinley closer to her hospital in Ann Arbor, MI. Once the news hit all the hammers fell to the floor and the house has sat untouched.
After her relapse we were kind of in a hard spot with choosing further treatment options due to her heart condition and inability to use a chemotherapy drug that is very effective at getting rid of AML. We chose the least aggressive option as she was only at 30% disease and went into remission easily at 90% disease the first time, we were told every time it comes back it becomes harder and harder to treat. The ultimate goal this time being to get her into remission and take her to transplant. The first attempt did not work to get her into remission, however, she responded from treatment with a decrease in disease from 30% to 19%. The team did not think giving her another round of the same treatment would get her to 0% disease so they presented a phase II study that was showing good results but a high rate of infection mortality during the recovery of her marrow. We decided to go ahead thinking this was her best option. It worked! She was again in remission, and was ready to have a bone marrow transplant from her perfectly matched brother, Diesel.
We decided to take her to Fred Hutch/Seattle Children’s for her bone marrow transplant as the risk of transplant with her heart condition was of high concern and I needed her in the best facility possible. We picked up and flew our family to Seattle on January 20th 2017 and she received her bone marrow transplant on February 23rd 2017. So far she has done well as continues to thrive with minor GVHD (graft vs. host disease symptoms). She was discharged from the hospital on March 20th to special housing close to the hospital where she will continue care until early June if all continues to go as planned.
In the meantime, we have plans to try and scurry to get this home in Fenton ready for her to come home to and be safe in. We thank each and everyone of you for your support throughout this whole journey, we couldn’t do this without you.
Brinley is a sweet 6 year old girl who started her journey as Brinley the Brave at the sweet age of 4 when she was diagnosed with AML (a form of leukemia). Our only sign that she was so sick was some excessive bruising on her legs and arms. She was immediately admitted to the hospital for more testing and confirmation of diagnosis. She was transferred to Mott’s children's hospital in Ann Arbor, MI where she had surgery for a central line placement and started her treatment with chemotherapy that same night. She underwent 3 out of 4 scheduled rounds of chemotherapy and was able to reach remission following the first round.
During recovery of the third round of chemotherapy she experienced cardiomyopathy, a condition where the left side of her heart does not squeeze. She was immediately taken to the pediatric ICU where she was placed on two cardiac drips that would pump her heart for her so her body could rest and get some fluid off of it. Her heart, thankfully, recovered fairly quickly and well. She now has to take several heart medications to help remodel her heart as she grows but she now has normal function. Because her heart started failing after the third round of chemotherapy they could not give her the scheduled fourth round of chemotherapy as it would likely kill her. She, instead, received a different round of chemotherapy they used to give AML in the past, which she only made it halfway through that round of chemotherapy due to contracting Influenza A and it was determined the remainder of chemotherapy may cause more harm then good.
She was released home cancer-free on February 8th of 2015 after 117 days spent in the hospital. She had her central line removed three months later and enjoyed life as a normal child for approximately ten months. We received news of relapse and that her awful cancer had reared its head again on November 21st 2016. Prior to this relapse Brinley was helping us swing some hammers while starting our very own remodel in a old farm house near the Fenton area. We had decided to move from the Hemlock area to put Brinley closer to her hospital in Ann Arbor, MI. Once the news hit all the hammers fell to the floor and the house has sat untouched.
After her relapse we were kind of in a hard spot with choosing further treatment options due to her heart condition and inability to use a chemotherapy drug that is very effective at getting rid of AML. We chose the least aggressive option as she was only at 30% disease and went into remission easily at 90% disease the first time, we were told every time it comes back it becomes harder and harder to treat. The ultimate goal this time being to get her into remission and take her to transplant. The first attempt did not work to get her into remission, however, she responded from treatment with a decrease in disease from 30% to 19%. The team did not think giving her another round of the same treatment would get her to 0% disease so they presented a phase II study that was showing good results but a high rate of infection mortality during the recovery of her marrow. We decided to go ahead thinking this was her best option. It worked! She was again in remission, and was ready to have a bone marrow transplant from her perfectly matched brother, Diesel.
We decided to take her to Fred Hutch/Seattle Children’s for her bone marrow transplant as the risk of transplant with her heart condition was of high concern and I needed her in the best facility possible. We picked up and flew our family to Seattle on January 20th 2017 and she received her bone marrow transplant on February 23rd 2017. So far she has done well as continues to thrive with minor GVHD (graft vs. host disease symptoms). She was discharged from the hospital on March 20th to special housing close to the hospital where she will continue care until early June if all continues to go as planned.
In the meantime, we have plans to try and scurry to get this home in Fenton ready for her to come home to and be safe in. We thank each and everyone of you for your support throughout this whole journey, we couldn’t do this without you.
Organiser and beneficiary
Kayleen Bishop
Organiser
Canton Township, MI
Jessica Thornton
Beneficiary
