Prayers To Qualify For A BMT

This post may have some crazy medical talk but we need specific prayers relating to the information. I’ll try to be as clear as possible. For the past two months our hopes, prayers, and efforts have been focused on Ashtyn getting cancer free. It was a relief and miracle to find she had 0.0% leukemia cells in her bone marrow but in the cancer world the findings simply mean that no leukemia cells were found to the best level technology can detect. Ashtyn has had 0.0% leukemia cells in the past but cancer has come back twice which means we have not yet found the best way to get rid of every single cancer cell for good. The particular bone marrow transplant we are hoping to do in Seattle seems to be her best bet. The transplant is from an umbilical cord donor with a protocol that includes a study chemotherapy drug called Treosulfan. It seems unanimous among the cancer team in Seattle and Salt Lake City that it’s important for Ashtyn to receive Treosulfan but because it’s a study drug, she must qualify to receive it. I mentioned the last aspirate showed 0.0% leukemia cells however at that time her marrow only had 10% cells indicating there wasn’t very many cells to look at. In order to detect leukemia cells, the marrow must have a sufficient amount of cells in it. The study company requires the marrow to be 24% cells in order to accept the required 0.0% leukemia cell result. Friday Ashtyn will get another bone marrow aspirate and biopsy. For her to qualify for a bone marrow transplant scheduled for May 29th, please pray 1. she will have cancer free results Monday with at least 24% cellularity in her marrow. 2. her lungs, heart, liver, and kidneys will be healthy enough to qualify for a bone marrow transplant. 3. she remains healthy. It's difficult for me to explain the complexities of a bone marrow transplant, all that it entails, and the toll that will be placed on Ashtyn’s body. I will continue to educate as we go through this fascinating and intense journey. There is no way she will get through this unscathed without your prayers. Your thoughts and prayers will be needed during these crucial months ahead. We really are grateful for all of your support.