Nicholas Bauer - No one should fight alone!
Hello! My name is Marlayna Nickerson and I am setting this up for a dear friend of mine. Anyone who knows her, knows how she gives and loves with her whole heart. I am here to tell Sherry's story because she and her family need a village bigger than I can manage right now.
It all started last week. One of Sherry's 4 sons, Nicholas Bauer felt ill. Sherry took him to the doctors twice and after 2 negative Covid test and a clear chest x-ray they told her it was just allergies. Friday May 28th Sherry noticed some unexplained bruising on Nick and decided to take him to our local Urgent Care. This is where the trajectory of their lives shifted abruptly and unexpectedly. Urgent care sent them to our local hospital where they sat for 8 long hours before being told that Nick had to be seen by a Oncologist pediatric specialist so they were being transferred to C.H.O.P (Childrens Hospital of Pennsylvania). His hemoglobin fell under6, his white blood cells were over 200,000, and his platelets were under 20,000. Once they arrived at CHOP they saw many specialist and received the devastating news that no child or mother should ever have to hear, Nick has leukemia. The next day Nick was in surgery to insert his port for easy access to IV medication, he received a bone marrow biopsy, and a lumbar puncture. The results from those tests confirmed that Nick is suffering from T Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. During this time they also learned that Nick has a malformation in his heart which will need to treated after after he receives chemo therapy.
Nicholas has started his chemo therapy which has caused him remain in the ICU. The medication which has killed off a large amount of white blood cells has unfortunately caused him to develop some complications. He currently has tumor lysis. Nick will remain in the ICU until his levels are maintained and doctors can confirm he will not need dialysis. Nicholas' kidneys are suffering. His electrolytes, potassium, and calcium are not at normal levels. Doctors had to rush into the room in the middle of the night to stabilize them. Because of this, Nick is having blood drawn every 4 hours around the clock and receiving medications to ensure they remain stable. One of the medications has caused his BSLs to rise so he will remain on insulin until his treatment is terminated.
Nicholas will need to spend 2 (8 hour days) per week minimum at CHOP once he is stabilized and released to return home to Cape May, NJ. That is a11-12hr per day minimum for them and only if he remains stable. If not, he will need to be readmitted into the ICU in Pennsylvania.
Nicholas is a typical 15 year old boy who recently started high school at LCMR. I am asking for the power of our community to come together and help this family! It takes a village.