Page 230 - The Exceptional Harley Fetterman

JUDY K JOHNSON

Harley, with Kevin and Beth attended Tara's funeral in Dripping
Springs, Texas located west of Austin. Beth commented to friends,
“This was a very emotionally draining funeral. She was so full of
promise and just about to start life for real at 18.” Harley agreed with
Beth that they needed to go out and do more meaningful things in
their lives. They felt fortunate to have that chance.
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Moreover, on October 15 just a couple of months earlier, Harley
had received an additional, troubling diagnosis of Myelodysplastic
Syndrome (MDS) discovered by a bone marrow aspiration and biopsy
ordered by his oncologist. MDS is an under-diagnosed rare group of
bone marrow failure disorders, where the body no longer makes
enough healthy, normal blood cells in the bone marrow. Abnormal
cells slowly take over the normal cells until a full bone marrow failure
occurs which means new blood cannot be produced. Suspected causes
of MDS are previous radiation treatment and chemotherapy for
cancer. Ultimately, the possibility of a bone marrow transplant
impended on Harley's future. The family began researching the
lengthy BMT process. A troubling statistic warned that one out of
three MDS patients ultimately progress to acute myeloid leukemia
(AML) a form of blood cancer.
Fortunately, on October 23 , 2013, Harley and his family still
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celebrated his fourth “Cancer-Free” anniversary from the brain tumor
on his optic nerve that had caused his blindness. It had been four
years since Harley's final brain surgery without further brain tumor
complications. Although other serious medical problems were
beginning to surface and might become more troubling in the near
future. By December, Harley's family was consulting with his
oncologist about monitoring his eventual need for a bone-marrow
transplant and initiating a lengthy process of attempting to locate a
precise donor match which could extend over many months.
Harley celebrated his fifth “Cancer-Free” anniversary from his
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brain tumor on October 23 , 2014. Sadly, this was his last “Cancer-
Free” anniversary. His blood issues were compounding with lowering
hemoglobin and blood counts. Frequent, troublesome nosebleeds
resulted in Harley appearing quite pale or tired and often requiring
him to receive additional units of blood.

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