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22 February 2008
MICHAEL LAWS
LUCY'S DADDY
LUCY: Friday 22 Feb Update
"The two specialists responsible
for Lucy's care - Mark Wintringham and Ruellyn Cockburn
- have just sat down with Leo and I in Lucy's room and
provided the results of the tests taken midweek.
There
were three tests - the CT scan, the lumbar punch and
the bone marrow biopsy - and each tested a different
facet of the toxic trilogy ... the aspergillus
fungus, the pneumonia, and the leukemia.
To quote Mark Wintringham" "we
have results that we did not expect
to see."
In short, the aspergillus has been
identified as 'aspergillus nidulans' and the invasive
pulmonary aspergillus of last week - so dangerous and so
fatal
- does
not appear to be as invasive or critical. The difference between last Wednesday's
CT scan and this weeks is dramatic. It appears to be in retreat and the great
fear, that it would honeycomb and permanently damage the lungs and create
abcesses, is retreating with it.
She is not out of danger, but she
is out of immediate danger. This is fantastic news. It
may not be a miracle yet ... but it is certainly
headed in that direction!
The
acute pneumonia is still there. It is a solid mass at the bottom of the lower
lung although it too looks less harsh than last week.
As for the leukemia: it's
still there but her leukemic blast cells have reduced from 90% to 10%. This
is a normal response; Lucy needs to have the cells to less
than 5% before there is a suggestion of remission. Again, though, we are headed
in the right direction.
With regards to future dangers relating
to both fungus and leukemia spreading
elsewhere ... those tests have returned negative.
All this means that our initial
prognosis has been radically revised. Her odds of survival have gone from 10-20%
to 50%-plus. In addition, she looks well and
the steroids have ensured she eats well. We are not out of the woods and she
is still fighting two life-threatening diseases but ... but the odds are now
Lucy's and not some statistical freak.
Although, we ask ourselves, is Lucy
already a statistical freak? Has she already evaded chance
and an immediate fate? I think
so. And given all the above, who
is not to say that both Starship's specialists - and the power of prayer -
is not working?
Certainly, not me." |
