|
|
Katherine Marguerite
Sutter's Mother writes:
At only 5 months old, Katherine Marguerite Sutter ("CoCo") was diagnosed with AML (Acute Myelogenous Leukemia). The sudden devastation, fear and anxiety with having to make instant medical decisions that could affect this little baby changed the lives of her family forever. Until this point in her life, all Baby Katherine had put into her body was her mother's milk. Now she was being fed chemotherapy and other medications. At this age she could not yet speak. She could not tell us her pain. We could only read it through her big, telling eyes.
After six rounds of chemotherapy, eight surgeries, hundreds of medications administered around the clock, the CAT Scan, MRI, EEG, EKG, Spinal Taps, morphine, temperatures of 106, heart rate of 230 per minute, pneumonia, sores throughout her entire GI tract, numerous visits to the intensive care unit, we had still not rid ourselves of this horrible disease.
Although in a major city with some of the largest medical facilities in the world, we were told there were few options, we could not continue in the hospital we were in, and there was not a bone marrow matched donor and it could be months until one might be found and we did not have that kind of time.
We searched the entire United States around the clock to find an answer. Through our prayer we were given Dr. Rubinstein of The New York Blood Center and Dr. Kurtzberg of Duke University Medical Center. They had found a suitable match. It was a cord blood unit. Through their unselfish dedication and compassion to save innocent children's lives, we had an answer to our prayers. Baby Katherine was saved.
Our story is long and complex, but the endless research of Dr. Rubinstein and the care of Dr. Kurtzberg have shown us the true meaning of life. For them and their very capable staff, it is not about making money or achieving fame, but the caring for and the loving of one another.
|
