In July 2002, she had to have a femoral neck fracture repair. She had been on prednisone for so long, that it caused her bones to go soft. But she had to be on prednisone for the GVHD. She was on so many types of med's. I used to tease her, I would say "It looks like a pharmacy around here." But all the med's were necessary to get her well. When she went in to have her 6th week checkup for the fracture, which healed real well, she had to also see her Oncologist. She had to go there several times a week for lab work. She found out that day that the AML had came back, she had another relapse. She was placed in the hosp., Madigan Army Hosp. That is where her Oncologist are located. She had to have more chemo. They were not able to complete the whole cycle of chemo, her body could not handle it. She began to have fevers. They could not figure out where the fevers were coming from. They also took out her Hickman line, in case it was infected. They placed a picc line in her arm to use. She decided that since she had her transplant done at the University of Washington Medical Center, she would go ahead and go there sooner than planned. They had already been talking about her going there after she went into remission, to get a drug that helps kill the leukemia. She was transported by ambulance. She did really well during transport.
The Dr's were then concerned that her counts were not coming back like they were suppose to. The next day, after that big scare, they started coming back. If the body does not have the cells, of course it can not live. She was doing prety good at this time.
She also had to have the Picc-line taken out & Hickman line placed in again. The only problem here is that the Hickman line fell out. She had to have IV's placed, til they got another line put in. They decided to put in a Picc-line this time, because with the Hickman, you have to go into surgery for that.
Then she started having difficulty with her breathing. She had to have a nasal cannula for oxygen. Her breathing worsened, she had to have another machine put in the room, because the wall unit was not enough for her. Then that machine was not enough, she had to be placed on a Bi-Pap machine, with the mask. We were able to take it off for short periods of time so that she could eat her "icecream" or whatever she wanted to try to eat. At first, she was not allowed to eat for fear of aspiration. But she talked them into it, I am so glad that she did. She was able to eat things that I normally would not have let her, due to you have to be careful what you eat after having a transplant. She could have very easily gotten sick, like food poisoning, it would have been alot worse for her to get, than if a person got it that had not had a transplant. But she did get to try a Big Mack, etc., foods from different restaurants. Also her Favorite thing to eat "icecream." "GOOD FOR HER." She developed BOOP, I will try to spell it, Bronchiolitis Obliterans Organizing Pneumonia. Anyway, she had to have a lung biopsy done so that they could find out what was wrong with her lungs. That is when they found the BOOP. The BOOP, unfortunately was too much for her poor little body to fight off. She just could not do it. She fought til the end.
She was always such a brave, smiling, beautiful person. I can say, she was tougher than all of us put together. She went through so much and still kept smiling & fighting to stay alive. Like I always said, she was my rock, she kept me going. You would think that it would have been the other way around.
On her death certificate, it says, that she died from Idiopathic Pneumonia. That is, for those of you that are wondering, Pneumonia from an unknown origin. All that I know is that they were not sure what caused her to have BOOP. It could have been from the chemo or radiation, etc. They do not know that much about BOOP. Maybe someday, they will learn more. The Dr's there at the UW said that they had learned alot from Christa. I know that would make her so happy. She always tried to do the different studies that they do, to help them learn about cancer. One thing more, I did not add the numerous times that she had to have a bone marrow biopsy and a lumbar puncture. These were important to do, but painful.
I know that God has another Wonderful Angel and I miss her so very much.
One thing that I want to add and I hope that Linda, Phil's Mom, does not mind. Christa had met Phil at UW while she was there for her transplant. They were neighbors on the 7th floor. Phil had been there for chemo, then to have a transplant. Christa and Phil, along with Chris, another cancer patient, always walked the hall's together. Anyway, back to what I was saying. Phil, what a sweet person to know, passed away before Christa's did. She was in the hosp. this last time when he passed. I was able to get through it a little better knowing that Phil would be there to meet Christa when the time came for her to pass on. I do not know how I know that he would be there, it was just a feeling, like I knew it somehow. So now they have everywhere in Heaven to walk, wherever that want. Both of them are free from pain and illness.
I continue praying that Chris, Christa's other friend, continues to do well. She had met him when he was first diagnosed with AML. She had went to his hosp. room to talk with him. I know that helped him out alot, talking with someone who has been there. He too has had a transplant.
One thing that makes me feel sadder is the fact that Christa's last birthday, last Christmas, last Valentines Day and last Easter, were all spent in the hosp. I was so hoping that would not happen. It did, but then again, she made it through so much, that even having her with us for those occasions, no matter where they were spent, were so wonderful, because she was there.
Something more that I want to add. Christa was unable to use her own Stem Cells for the transplant, due to the fact that she had relapsed so soon after her bone marrow was harvested. |
