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Barrett Thomas Harris daughter of Neal and Audrea Harris granddaughter of Wanda Harris & Teddy and Janie McCain Born May 25, 2003 |
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Barrett was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia on Tuesday, September 16, 2003. Update
Tuesday, May 25, 2004 (Day +159) 9:00 am - Good Morning Prayer Warriors and Happy 1st Birthday Barrett! Barrett is still doing wonderful and she had her first birthday party on Sunday. There are new pictures in the photo gallery of the big event. Barrett will have her central line taken out today. Please pray that all will go well with this procedure. Audrea will try to update us later with more details. Thanks for all of your wonderful prayers! Keep up the good work! Amie Joye
Thursday, May 20, 2004 (Day +154)
8:00 am - Good Morning Prayer Warriors! Barrett is doing wonderful. We were hoping to get her central line out this Friday but as of right now, it appears that is not going to happen. Please pray that Barrett continues to do well and that the Doctor will evaluate her on Friday and determine that it can be removed next week. The down side to having it removed is that we are drawing her blood from that line and once it is gone, she will have to be stuck by a needle to have her blood drawn. Like most things in life, there are pros and cons to some things. Barrett is very busy and continues to meet her developmental milestones. She is tasting food but not yet eating. This is a huge improvement from two months ago. Please continue to pray that she will start eating soon so that she will no longer have to be fed through her nose tube. Unfortunately, the nose tube may be there for another six months to one year due to the fact that she will still be on a large number of medicines. The prednisone taper continues to be going well and there appears to be no signs of GVH. Thanks for all your prayers, keep up the good work, we still need them. Please continue to pray that Barrett remains GVH and cancer free. Mom
Tuesday, May 11, 2004 (Day +145) 11:30 am - Good Morning Prayer Warriors! Barrett is doing wonderful. She has started a prednisone taper on Sunday and she is receiving 2cc's every other day. The Doctor stated last Friday that we will either be in the hospital in two weeks or we will not. He stated that if she is going to have a Graft Versus Host Disease flare up that it will possibly happen in the next two weeks due to the taper. Please pray that Barrett will tolerate the taper this time and will not have a flare up of her GVH.
If you remember last time that she had a flare up of GVH, it was because of the prednisone taper, so it concerns me greatly that this could possibly happen again. If we have to go back into the hospital, Barrett will be really sick and unfortunately, this could all fall around the time of her first birthday. I pray that Barrett will not be that sick again, she was in so much pain during the last flare up.
The good thing is Barrett continues to gain weight and the fact that she is gaining weight and her dosage of her medicines are not being increased with her weight gain means she is already on some kind of taper, so we have to remember God is in control and I have to have faith that it is in His Will that she will not get sick again.
It is so important that Barrett come off the prednisone because it is a steroid and long time usage of this drug could have an affect on her growth. As of this time, Barrett has not been on this drug long enough for this to be a problem, but if she has another flare up of GVH, we will have to start all over again with the prednisone. Also, as we begin the tapers on her immune suppressing drugs we are slowly waking up the donor, the Doctor stated that babies usually adapt to the donor quicker than adults.
Please pray that Barrett will remain cancer free and that she will not have any more GVH.
Mom
Thursday, May 6, 2004 (Day +140)
2:30 pm - Good Afternoon Prayer Warriors! I have just received one of the most moving emails that I have ever read since Barrett's illness. I have written before and even said, "that if Barrett saves one life, her illness will have been worth it". I just received an email from someone that has been following Barrett's illness and I am posting it for everyone to read. I have protected the name of this person but I want her to know that Barrett's health, being my first gift on Mother's Day, this young lady has given me my second gift, and that is, my child made a difference in someone's life. Remember your faith is something no one can ever take away from you. Here is the email. Hi Audrea.....I just finished reading your update today and remembered that I had been meaning to write to you. I was talking to ??? the other day and sharing an experience that she thought I should tell you about. Maybe in telling you this, you will feel a little better about postponing your baby dedication. Within the last year, I have started going back to church. The first few months were pretty sporadic, but after ???? and I broke up, things changed for me in that area. I knew that in order to get through a difficult period, I had to rely on something other than myself. I'm not all that knowledgeable when it comes to faith and religion, but I started attending church more regularly and picked a Sunday School class at First Baptist. The more I would read about you, Barrett, and your ordeal, the more I realized that it was your faith in God that has kept you going through all of this. I realized that if God could get someone as small as Barrett through something like this, then He could surely help me get over a little break-up. I do feel as if there have been many factors that have led me back to church, but you and Barrett are up there at the top of the list. I even told this to one of the ministers at FBC that I met with. Anyway, this Sunday, I'm getting baptized. My mom always wanted my brother and I to wait until we knew what it was truly about, and for the first time in my life, at age 31, I can see all that God can do in my life. Thank you so much for updating your website and being so candid in your feelings. Through you and Barrett, I've been able to realize even more than I ever thought possible, and I've been able to reach deep down inside me and find the thing that has been missing in my life. I will think of you both on Sunday morning. Happy 1st Mother's Day--you're an inspiration, and a role model for all mothers everywhere! ?????? I had to share this because it makes all that we have been through more easy to accept and when I am having a bad day and one of my pity parties, I will be able to remember this and maybe know that this could have been one of the reasons that Barrett had to be sick. I truly believe that God has a plan for all of us and I hope that He continues to use me and Barrett in some way to make a difference. As I deal with everyday life, at work and home, and sometimes I get upset about something I did or didn't do right, I think in 100 years will it matter? The answer is that someone as small as me, I know that answer is "no" it will not matter, but to me the things that my daughter has accomplished will matter in 100 years. The medicine used to treat Barrett will make a difference and she has been proof of that, the fact that she had an impact on someone's life will be proof of that, and who knows what else God has planned for her. If I were to lose Barrett tomorrow, I would be joyful in the time that I had with her and not dwell in the time that I will have lost. My Little Messenger from God has once again taught me something. How we forget that children can be so wise! Mom
10:30 am - Good Morning Prayer Warriors! Barrett is still doing wonderful at home. Her infection is at the site of the central line and skin and not in the central line. I am changing the dressing everyday and she does not like that very much. It is very tender but so far we have not heard if the culture has grown anything. If or when the culture does grow, we may have to start treating her again with IV antibiotics. Please pray that this is not an infection that would put Barrett back into the hospital. I received my first Mother's Day Card, from North Carolina, in the mail yesterday and it brought tears of joy to my eyes. What an honor and blessing to be Barrett's mother, to be a Mother period. One of the things that I will always remember is sitting in Church and seeing Baby Dedication happen and holding back the tears because I wanted to be a part of that special occasion. Anyone who knows me, knows that being a Mother is something that I have wanted for a long time, let's just say that Neal and I were not ready at the same time. I respect Neal and our marriage and when he was ready, we were blessed with Barrett.
I have felt the need to write my emotions about this for a long time and as I think back, if I had a child when Neal was not ready, that child would not have been Barrett, and had we waited a couple more months, that child also would not have been Barrett. One might say, "If you had a child at a different time, you may not be going through this illness", but I would take the illness and all for my Barrett. She is perfect to me and my special gift and I would not trade her for anything. I cannot imagine loving another as I do her. I would trade places with her in a heart beat to keep her from having to go through this illness, what loving Mother would not.
So as I look forward to my first Mother's Day and treasure all my blessings, I will feel like I have finally earned what I have waited for for so long, and that is to be a Mother. And even though we will not be able to participate in Baby Dedication at Church, our hearts will be there and I know that when God feels that the time is right, Neal and I will be able to publicly dedicate Barrett. So as I enjoy my Mother's Day with my family, I will know that God has given me the gift of being a Mother, one of the best gifts of life.
Please continue to pray that Barrett will remain cancer free for the rest of her life.
Mom
Tuesday, May 4, 2004 (Day +138)
10:00 am - Good Morning Prayer Warriors! Barrett continues to do wonderful. She has eaten a couple of bites of food. Please pray she will regain her appetite soon and she will continue to entertain food. Audrea and Barrett are on their way to clinic. Barrett's central line in her chest may have an infection. For preventative measures, they are going to check it out. Please pray that Barrett will have no infection in this line. Amie Joye
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