Micah's Bone Marrow Transplant in Seattle
My sister-in-law Analee (Bart's sister) and her husband Tyler live in Spokane Washington. They have 4 kids: Truman (7), Betty (6), Hank (4), and a 1 year old little boy named Micah who was diagnosed with leukemia in September, 2018. They have spent the last several months in the hospital with him in chemotherapy. While he has improved a bit, it is increasingly clear that his recovery is not likely without a bone marrow transplant. They are in dire need of emergency funds to cover the cost of a 4-6 month hotel stay near the hospital in Seattle where Micah will be receiving his life-saving bone marrow transplant. Because the Ronald McDonald House is full there aren't other feasible options other than a hotel near the hospital. We're asking for any funds that you could spare to help cover the hospital stay and minor living expenses for the necessary 4-6 months that Analee will need to be living in Seattle during the bone marrow transplant procedure. She is already in Seattle now and has started paying for the hotel, so these funds are needed as soon as possible to help as her stay continues and will need to last 4-6 months. Tyler will be taking care of Truman, Betty, and Hank in Spokane while Analee is in Seattle. Thank you so much for your kindness and generosity, we are so appreciative of any support to help them get through this very difficult procedure with little Micah!
Here is Analee's more detailed explanation of the process that Micah has been going through. As you can see he is a strong little guy, but he really needs this bone marrow transplant as soon as possible. This will help explain the pictures that you see of Micah in the hospital:
"Micah was diagnosed September 20th. At first the doctors thought he may have a type of leukemia called APML because of how sick he was. Thankfully they were able to stabilize him after 4 days and the diagnosis was confirmed to be AML. He started chemo that day. We slowly saw our Micah emerge from the sick swollen little body that we had seen over the days previously just to have him start feeling horrible again with mouth sores and other effects from the chemo.
After his first round of chemo a bone marrow biopsy was done. We all waited on the edge of our seats for the results and it was confirmed. Micah was in remission!
Micah sailed through his second round of chemo and was discharged home to recover. 3 days later he contracted norovirus. We were in and out of the hospital a few times to ensure he didn’t get dehydrated. The morning after our second discharge and with Micah feeling better I noticed his right eye seemed swollen. A CT scan was ordered that showed a mass. The mass was biopsies on thanksgiving and revealed the worst outcome possible, a leukemic tumor. The doctors were stunned. They now believe he was never truly in remission.
A very intensive round of chemo began the following Tuesday. Micah received 10 times the dose of chemo from his previous rounds.
Despite this huge dose of chemo the white blood cells seen in Micah’s spinal fluid steadily started climbing which indicated that the leukemia cells were not responding to this type of chemo. Stronger drugs were prescribed to be injected into his spinal fluid. After each injection Micah would be weak and shaky, have difficulty standing, crawling, and playing. But finally the cells in his spinal fluid started to decrease and clear. He still receives weekly injections of chemo into his spinal fluid to make sure it stays clear before his bone marrow transplant.
The doctors say that if Micah is in remission (which looks promising at this point) his remission is tenuous and he will relapse without a bone marrow transplant. More testing is scheduled to start in Seattle on February 4th to ensure complete remission prior to his transplant.
He is scheduled to start the conditioning process for his transplant on February 19th. We will need to be in Seattle for 4-6 months for this meaning Micah and I will be stuck in Seattle during this time while Tyler tries to keep things afloat at home. "
Again, thank you so much for your generosity, Analee can use all the help she can get in Seattle to be there for Micah. We can't thank all of you enough for the outpouring of love and support for Analee, Tyler, and Micah.
Thank you so much!
Erin and Bart Olson
