Help Kelly Hetherington Battle AML
Donation protected
Never in a million years would I have thought I'd be sitting here typing this. Mid to late February 2021 our world got flipped upside down. Kelly went in to get some blood work drawn for her health insurance biometrics. The healthcare provider sent it to the lab and they inadvertently did the wrong tests. We've never been happier about a mistake being made. When she got her lab results, it showed her red and white counts were low as well as her platelets. This "mistake" was potentially a life saver and possibly some sort of devine intervention. Her personal physician said she needed to be seen ASAP, but they couldn’t get her in for several weeks.
A close family friend and Kelly’s sister Janet made some phone calls and later that day we had an appointment at Froedtert. They drew labs and confirmed the lab results. We then met with Dr. Atallah who is a well known hematologist/oncologist. A bone marrow biopsy was done. The diagnosis was Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS). What the heck is that? Kelly’s bone marrow wasn’t producing enough red and white blood cells or platelets. Along with that, a number of her cells were abnormal, called Blasts. When your blasts are 20% or higher, you’re considered to have Leukemia. Kelly’s blasts were at 17.6%. Just below the threshold for leukemia. With that said MDS is also considered pre-leukemia. The treatment is basically the same. Kelly needs a bone marrow transplant.
The transplant Doctor informed us that had this not been caught by mistake, in two months time, Kelly would have had full blown Leukemia. In six months time with no treatment, she would die. The transplant team began working immediately and is currently looking for and waiting for results for potential bone marrow donor matches.
Since the diagnosis, Kelly has not been to work. She will not be going in to work for quite some time. Her employer and co-workers have been nothing short of amazing. Kelly is working when she can from home. Kelly’s new full-time job has become going to doctor appointments and lab appointments. Her treatment regimen consists of numerous antibiotics to keep her healthy. She gets 5 days low dose chemo and then 23 days off. She gets labs drawn 3 times a week. She sees her doctor once a week. She gets blood and platelet transfusions as needed after labs are drawn. Many weeks she is at the hospital 5 days a week, sometimes as long as 7-8 hours a day.
Kelly got through her first 5 days of chemo and is on her 23 day off cycle. The chemo wiped out what was left of her immune system. They knew this would happen, that’s what the antibiotics are for. Each day that Kelly would get platelets she would develop a fever. The fevers are usually low grade, but Froedtert says anything 100.4 or greater we are to call and see if they want her brought in. Most times it wouldn’t get to 100.4. They ran some labs and had Kelly’s blood/platelets ran for cross typing/matching. This would hopefully help with the fevers and get the platelets to last longer requiring less infusions.
Over the last week and a half, Kelly has had fevers requiring her to be admitted. We spent last weekend (March 5,6,7) at Froedtert. She came home Sunday and went back in Monday night March 8th. She came home Tuesday mid-day. Wednesday we went to her regularly scheduled lab draw, she got platelets, and later that night was running a high fever and coughing so hard it was making her dry heave. We called, then brought her in and she has been admitted since.
Since being at Froedtert they have done numerous chest X-rays and a chest CT. They found she has pneumonia. When the chemo killed her immune system, it allowed the pneumonia to flourish. They did a bronchoscopy and went into her lungs to do a wash and suction out what they could. Everything suctioned would then be biopsied to see what type of pneumonia we’re dealing with and also what antibiotics will work best on that specific pneumonia.
During the bronchoscopy Kelly’s platelets were down to 5. She must have had her head tilted back or feet elevated slightly which caused some bleeding behind the eyes. The bleeding is no longer active however her vision is now a little distorted. The ophthalmologists have taken a look and they said it should resolve in a week or two. The blood work cross typing came back for her blood/platelets. Her platelet cross typing is somewhat rare and they seem to be in short supply. They are ringing phones attempting to get donors in to the blood banks to donate much needed platelets for her. The goal now is to try and keep her platelet level at least 30.
We are still waiting for the lab results/cultures from the bronchoscopy, although the Infectious Disease Docs seem to be leaning towards Fungal Pneumonia. Meanwhile Kelly developed a full body drug rash. It seems she just can’t catch a break. They think they know which antibiotic caused it and have since stopped giving her that one. With the rash/reaction and the amount of fluids they have been running, she is extremely bloated and they are now using diuretics to get the fluid out of her. The pneumonia has given her a dry cough causing her chest and ribs to be sore.
So right now, we sit and wait for bronchoscopy results, with Pneumonia, a cough, sore ribs, a full body drug rash, bloating and distorted vision. This woman does not deserve any of this.
With all of this in addition to what is yet to come with bone marrow transplant the medical bills are going to astronomical. It is for this reason that we are asking for donations to assist in paying for medical expenses. We thank anyone willing to contribute to Kelly’s current battle with pneumonia and her long battle ahead with MDS.
Anyone also wishing to be tested as a potential bone marrow donor can get info on the link below.
https://bethematch.org/about-us/how-we-help-patients/be-the-match-registry/
Thank you for your consideration and God Bless!
A close family friend and Kelly’s sister Janet made some phone calls and later that day we had an appointment at Froedtert. They drew labs and confirmed the lab results. We then met with Dr. Atallah who is a well known hematologist/oncologist. A bone marrow biopsy was done. The diagnosis was Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS). What the heck is that? Kelly’s bone marrow wasn’t producing enough red and white blood cells or platelets. Along with that, a number of her cells were abnormal, called Blasts. When your blasts are 20% or higher, you’re considered to have Leukemia. Kelly’s blasts were at 17.6%. Just below the threshold for leukemia. With that said MDS is also considered pre-leukemia. The treatment is basically the same. Kelly needs a bone marrow transplant.
The transplant Doctor informed us that had this not been caught by mistake, in two months time, Kelly would have had full blown Leukemia. In six months time with no treatment, she would die. The transplant team began working immediately and is currently looking for and waiting for results for potential bone marrow donor matches.
Since the diagnosis, Kelly has not been to work. She will not be going in to work for quite some time. Her employer and co-workers have been nothing short of amazing. Kelly is working when she can from home. Kelly’s new full-time job has become going to doctor appointments and lab appointments. Her treatment regimen consists of numerous antibiotics to keep her healthy. She gets 5 days low dose chemo and then 23 days off. She gets labs drawn 3 times a week. She sees her doctor once a week. She gets blood and platelet transfusions as needed after labs are drawn. Many weeks she is at the hospital 5 days a week, sometimes as long as 7-8 hours a day.
Kelly got through her first 5 days of chemo and is on her 23 day off cycle. The chemo wiped out what was left of her immune system. They knew this would happen, that’s what the antibiotics are for. Each day that Kelly would get platelets she would develop a fever. The fevers are usually low grade, but Froedtert says anything 100.4 or greater we are to call and see if they want her brought in. Most times it wouldn’t get to 100.4. They ran some labs and had Kelly’s blood/platelets ran for cross typing/matching. This would hopefully help with the fevers and get the platelets to last longer requiring less infusions.
Over the last week and a half, Kelly has had fevers requiring her to be admitted. We spent last weekend (March 5,6,7) at Froedtert. She came home Sunday and went back in Monday night March 8th. She came home Tuesday mid-day. Wednesday we went to her regularly scheduled lab draw, she got platelets, and later that night was running a high fever and coughing so hard it was making her dry heave. We called, then brought her in and she has been admitted since.
Since being at Froedtert they have done numerous chest X-rays and a chest CT. They found she has pneumonia. When the chemo killed her immune system, it allowed the pneumonia to flourish. They did a bronchoscopy and went into her lungs to do a wash and suction out what they could. Everything suctioned would then be biopsied to see what type of pneumonia we’re dealing with and also what antibiotics will work best on that specific pneumonia.
During the bronchoscopy Kelly’s platelets were down to 5. She must have had her head tilted back or feet elevated slightly which caused some bleeding behind the eyes. The bleeding is no longer active however her vision is now a little distorted. The ophthalmologists have taken a look and they said it should resolve in a week or two. The blood work cross typing came back for her blood/platelets. Her platelet cross typing is somewhat rare and they seem to be in short supply. They are ringing phones attempting to get donors in to the blood banks to donate much needed platelets for her. The goal now is to try and keep her platelet level at least 30.
We are still waiting for the lab results/cultures from the bronchoscopy, although the Infectious Disease Docs seem to be leaning towards Fungal Pneumonia. Meanwhile Kelly developed a full body drug rash. It seems she just can’t catch a break. They think they know which antibiotic caused it and have since stopped giving her that one. With the rash/reaction and the amount of fluids they have been running, she is extremely bloated and they are now using diuretics to get the fluid out of her. The pneumonia has given her a dry cough causing her chest and ribs to be sore.
So right now, we sit and wait for bronchoscopy results, with Pneumonia, a cough, sore ribs, a full body drug rash, bloating and distorted vision. This woman does not deserve any of this.
With all of this in addition to what is yet to come with bone marrow transplant the medical bills are going to astronomical. It is for this reason that we are asking for donations to assist in paying for medical expenses. We thank anyone willing to contribute to Kelly’s current battle with pneumonia and her long battle ahead with MDS.
Anyone also wishing to be tested as a potential bone marrow donor can get info on the link below.
https://bethematch.org/about-us/how-we-help-patients/be-the-match-registry/
Thank you for your consideration and God Bless!
Organiser
Tim Hetherington
Organiser
Oconomowoc, WI