I’m going to set the scene so the miracle can be best understood. Ashtyn is on Day 10 of her bone marrow transplant. She is in the thick of the transplant... meaning, the toll it’s taking on her body is at the extreme. The chemotherapy and total body radiation given two weeks ago is at its peak for wrecking havoc. She continues to have zero white blood cells to heal the body. Visual proof of that is she has ulcerations in her mouth and skin breakdown because new cells are not able to replace the cells that have died. This is all to be expected. In addition to the “normal” problems of a transplant, complications arose. Tuesday we found out she was septic with a blood infection and also realized her kidneys were significantly injured. The infection came because a bacteria in her body made its way from her intestine to the blood stream and the prophylactic antibiotic she was on didn’t cover that particular bacteria. Her kidneys were injured because she had two prior transplants that caused a great deal of stress to the kidneys decreasing reserve for the many medications she’s on. Bacteria was multiplying in her blood stream while numerous medications were building up in her system without the help of her kidneys to get rid of them. When she got to the ICU Tuesday it was projected that she was headed for dialysis and possible intubation. On Wednesday morning the entire healthcare team discussed her plan of care thinking she’d be in the ICU for several weeks. Being on Day 10, it wasn’t likely she would bounce back quickly but rather she’d get worse because at that point she had nothing in her favor. Generally recovery comes once white blood cells begin to be present which is still easily over a week away. What Ashtyn did have in her favor was trust in God, a fighting spirit, and prayers of many. She was given a priesthood blessing that said specifically, “You will recover quickly because of the hundreds of prayers being said on your behalf.” I didn’t know what “quickly” meant but I sure didn’t expect that 24 hours later the team would get together again to discussed the plan and be surprised that all their predictions were thrown out the window. She was ready to leave the ICU. “This is not what we expected.” That’s our miracle magnet where it would be difficult for anyone to explain any other reason she recovered the way she did. Her health isn’t perfect but it is well enough to be out of the ICU and back on the cancer floor. The first thing she wanted to do was take a bath and put on real clothes, something she didn’t care about yesterday. I heard several times today, from hospital staff, “This kind of recovery doesn’t happen, not on Day 10 of transplant especially having had two previous transplants.” “She’s a miracle girl.” Ashtyn’s response, “I don’t understand why they keep saying that.” One day she’ll understand.
Thank you to all of you for your support, concern, thoughts, and prayers.
