Brendan is a trooper that's for sure! We also tell you of a medical miracle that gave Brendan his life back. My friend, Victoria, who is Brendan's aunt tells us about him.
On October 31st we celebrated a momentous occasion - just six years ago from this morning, Brendan Schmitt's life was spared because of his stem cell transplant. We ask that you remember the impact that this life saving cure had on him and on all of us who so dearly are blessed by his contagious spirit, humorous antics, and loving heart.
This article has been included in my book Miracle of Hope And Promise which can be purchased from our store.
MIRACLES OF HOPE AND PROMISE
I want to tell you about a child who was suffering and slowly dying and how the science of a cure using stem cells, along with energy medicine, hope and prayers saved his life.
The picture of Brendan on the right was taken just a few days ago. He received stem cells 6 years ago on Hallowe'en. Without these he would not have survived!
HALLOWEEN HORRORS & MIRACLES
Submitted By: Victoria Schmitt Babb
Imagine standing over your child who is laying in a hospital bed, draped in endless cords, surrounded by machines; staring down at him, wondering if this day will be his very last. Emotions tumble through you as every single belief system you have lay scattered on the floor. There is no doubt that this child is suffering; his whimpers and cries reign above the lullaby of beeps that have now become a permanent song etched in your mind. You hear the sounds, even after leaving the isolated, sterile room that requires you to dress in a yellow gown and scrub your hands and arms thoroughly with something that smells and feels like lye soap.
Morphine. The nurse puts another dose in his central line to keep his little, frail framed body still. His hair, eyelashes, eyebrows are all gone, cheeks are hollowed and completion is stark white. He no longer looks real and you begin to question if this is really happening or a scene from a horror film.
No one know why my nephew, Brendan, plummeted into bone marrow failure at the early age of 6 months during the fall of 2002. It could happen to anyone, at anytime. The immune system either is not intact or becomes compromised by a disease or illness.
As soon as we realized that Brendan no longer had a functioning immune system, we began our search for a bone marrow donor. After tirelessly searching for two months, the time had run out. Brendan will not live to make it to his first Christmas; no putting the ornaments towards the center of the tree to keep curious hands from reaching; no sitting on Santa's lap for a photo; no first steps; terrible twos; boarding the school bus for the very first time. The grim reality set in, and set in with large fists throwing endless blows into our abdomen.
This child was dying.
It was a few days before Halloween when we were told the news. A match had been found, stem cells, a 4 out of 6 match. The odds were not in our favor, but to wait could cost Brendan his life. It was a crap shoot; all bets on hope, prayer, and the power of stem cells. Transplant was scheduled for Halloween Day, a day that will become the moment of truth. I remember the moment as if it were yesterday.
October 31st, 2002, at 11:24 a.m., stem cells were brought up in a large syringe being cooled by what reminded me of a lunch cooler. Friends, family, hospital staff, medical students and bystanders who have shared in our 2 month residency at the hospital, watched through the window. Four of us surrounded Brendan in his tomb of a room, and witnessed a real life miracle. Approximately 1 cup of stem cells injected into his central line; the stench of creamed corn filled the room. I have yet to eat creamed corn again.
After a series of chemotherapy that practically took Brendan’s life, stem cells were harvested to save it.
Halloween Day, a time to realize the horrors that life can give you, and a time to affirm the miracles of lifesaving cures. Following transplant, Brendan’s body began to produce healthy cells, his blood completely changed type, a new immune system emerged, and he came home from the hospital one day before Christmas. As for this Halloween, he can not decide if he is going to dress up like a Cowboy or Mr. Bones.
Nothing can prepare someone for the gut wrenching, blood curling experience of watching an innocent child fight for their life. No one can imagine the grip that takes hold of your life and leaves you gasping for your own breath, asking a series of never answered questions revolving around, “Why?”
We don't know the answers to that question only that there is a lesson for all of us to learn from this experience.
MICHAEL
ASHLEY
