Survivor (Yam's Memory Survives): Romancing A Deadly Disease

(Two things: First, I had difficulty choosing the title for this piece. As a compromise and to capture my ambivalence, I place both titles. Second, my daughter Janice and I visited the House of Hope at the Davao Medical Center yesterday. We met with Xai of Kythe Foundation which is playing an enormous role in improving the lot of pediatric cancer patients in the hospital by providing psycho-emotional help as integral part of the healing process of the patients. During our talk, Xai affirmed the therapeutic effect of blogging not only for the blogger but for the readers as well.)

When our daughter Yam spent 23 days in two hospitals in Manila and was transferred to a Davao Hospital on March 25, we never doubted she will bounce back to wellness. Her March 10 engraftment analysis showed 100% donor's graft and therefore was leukemia-free. Although her CT scan showed a spleen enlargement, a developing abscess in the liver and some nodules in her lungs, she was being treated with high-end anti-biotics. While she tested positive for the dreaded cytomegalovirus, she was immediately given treatment. Her persistent menstrual bleeding was likewise minimized and controlled.

As she did in two previous bouts with infection, we knew she will bounce back. She had the best doctors we knew of and she was receiving utmost hospital care. She had strong will and spirit, we had friends and family support, we were focused in providing everything she needed, and we had prayer warriors backing us up.

When we decided to transfer to a Davao hospital, we went through elaborate preparations to eliminate possible medical risks. The doctors ascertained her medical condition, set into motion the treatment regimen and made the necessary medical abstract and endorsements. We made special travel arrangements with the airline while a long-time friend provided the hospital to airport vehicle.

At the Davao end, hospital transfer arrangements were done and so with the airport to hospital transport. Yam's Davao doctor was ready to visit, the hospital staff was alerted, the hospital room was prepared so Yam was immediately whisked to her room without going through normal procedures. Yam seemed to have just transferred to another hospital room with a three-hour travel interval. It was also a change from her Manila-based male doctors to her Davao-based female physicians who all previously handled her since 2006.

So far, so good. Medications were administered as planned and adjustments were done when needed. On March 29, the cytomegalovirus test was negative. Yam's Ate Janice also arrived from Manila and beefed up family support. Yam's tutor Chirlen had been around to assist in many ways and her Kuya John was just 3 hours away. Mom stuck by her side on a 24/7 in spite of becoming accessible to her work and workmates. Dad was hovering around, always ready to get outside-the-room needs met. Yam's menstrual flow also stopped.

But the fever just won’t go away. The blood counts just wouldn’t rise. The energy just seems to dissipate. The body began to waste away. The petechiae became visible and began to enlarge. The “drug of last resort” wasn’t getting the job done and had to be stopped. The shift to other antibiotics didn’t get the fever off at all. And the blood transfusions were needed every other day. Signs of allo-immunity became apparent as the platelet count rises after infusion but quickly plummeted down in a day or two. Yam’s bone marrow was simply immobilized. Yam was not improving, she seemed not responding to medications.