[Oe List ...] Wonderful News to Share

[Nancy Trask]

Congratulations to Misha and the whole family, for the great success of his
cancer journey.  What a relief to complete the final treatment!  Here’s to
health & happiness for the Gottesman/Philbrook family!
Nancy T

On Mon, Nov 14, 2022 at 10:43 AM Paula Philbrook via OE <
oe at lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote:

> My dear league of Colleagues,
> I wanted to share this wonderful news: Misha (child of Marjorie Rebekah
> Otto grandchild of . . .  and great grandchild of Marge and Phil Philbrook)
> is doing really well, and as of Friday Nov 11, he is done with cancer
> treatment. Thank you all for your support, prayers and energy in the two
> years since his diagnosis.
>
> See Bekah's reflections below and Raphi's beautiful words and pictures at
> this link. Raphi's update with pics  Raphi's update with pics
> <https://www.notion.so/Good-News-21079a9b584c4333994ab81dbc3b473a>
>
> from M. Rebekah Otto
> We’re done
>
> I have always been a “words” person. If I am not talking, listening,
> reading, or writing, I would rather be talking, listening, reading, or
> writing.
>
> Then cancer came, and my words failed. They failed to protect my baby.
> They could not save him, only his doctors and his treatment would. I felt
> so powerless.
>
> After weeks of unexplained fevers and doctors dodging appointments because
> of COVID, our pediatrician finally examined him and saw that Misha had
> small red dots on his stomach and legs, petechiae, a sign of low platelets.
> He ordered labs. After dinner, our pediatrician called and said Misha’s
> blood labs are abnormal. Something is suppressing the bone marrow. It might
> be an unusual infection or it might be leukemia.
>
> Misha and I were sent to the emergency room immediately for more testing.
>
> When we got admitted to the hospital that night, the first team of
> residents told me, “it’s not a slam dunk” for a leukemia diagnosis. Wow!
> What a choice of words. They meant that the labs weren’t completely
> indicative, and they needed to do more testing.
>
> Then in the middle of the night a chatty nurse was taking Misha’s vitals
> and checking on me. I could not admit to myself that my baby probably had
> cancer. She said, “If it is leukemia, it will be a hard few years. You will
> all get through it, and then you will know that you can do anything.” Oh,
> what wisdom.
>
> In the weeks and months after diagnosis, we were terrified and treatment
> was its most intense. He had frequent procedures with sedation. He had a
> port placed in his chest. His nurses had to stick a needle in it to give
> him chemo. He had multiple blood transfusions. His meds made him put on a
> lot of weight, and he lost his hair. He didn’t look like himself anymore.
>
> After about nine months, we graduated to maintenance, with mostly at-home
> meds, and it felt manageable. It was full of blood draws and meds, learning
> new words like ANC and 6mp and Septra.
>
> Most of the time has been deeply normal: playdates, soccer practice,
> tantrums, TV, school. Somewhere in there we got COVID, went camping, moved,
> made new friends, loved each other, argued, watched the bears wrestle at
> the zoo, ate a lot of noodles.
>
> Cancer has been a fog, dangerous and unknown. I couldn’t see beyond it.
>
> I haven’t wanted to start writing about this journey because it hasn’t
> been over. I haven’t known how our cancer story ends, but now it has been a
> little more than two years. We are done with treatment today.
>
> Our baby has been in cancer treatment for half of his life, and I don’t
> have words for how happy I am that it’s over and he’s made it.
> 11/11/2022
>
>
> Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in
> harmony.
>     Mahatma Gandhi
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>
-- 
“If you love it enough, anything will talk with you”
~George Washington Carver
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