Page 241 - The Exceptional Harley Fetterman

THE EXCEPTIONAL HARLEY FETTERMAN

He was on TPN nutrition and steroids which made his blood sugars go
up and require insulin treatment. Even though he had now been in the
Children's Bone Marrow Transplant Unit for 56 days, he was still in
good spirits. Lots of blood donors had shown tremendous support for
his need of daily granulocyte transfusions which were eventually
stopped due to kidney issues.
On day #24 of the second transplant, Harley was having virus
issues and his ANC was zero. Blood tests show that Harley was
producing new blood cells so there was expectation that his ANC
would rise soon. Harley was experiencing some back pain but still
exercised by walking the halls after hours. He was excited about
having downloaded a new Rick Riordin book to read.

On day #25, Harley felt good while working hard on homework.
On day #27, ANC still zero. Some of virus problems were
declining. Harley was eating better and taking less pain meds. His
radiation burns were clearing up, and blood sugars were better
requiring less TPN and insulin. His hair was even starting to grow
back. Harley was doing six laps of hall walking, doing his homework,
and eating chicken strips for dinner with a dessert of gummy bears.
On day #33, Harley appeared puffy, couldn't stand up, and was
hallucinating. He required catheter and dialysis treatment. Screening
for blood donors was once again a high priority.

On day #39, June 1, 2016, an infection was hurting Harley's
kidneys requiring continued dialysis. Blood tests show that there were
no original abnormal cells in Harley's blood. Some of Beth's cells are
still found even though Harley has undergone radiation treatment
since her cells were injected back in March.
Even though hospitalized, Harley had continued to keep high
priority on homework completion for the last semester of his high
school education. Now, just as Beth had represented Harley at St.
Baldrick's head-shaving fundraiser, Kevin felt duty bound to represent
rd
Harley at his Bowie High School graduation ceremony on June 3 ,
2016 in Austin.

Kevin commented on FaceBook that he felt Harley really needed
his diploma and promised Harley he'd try hard not to screw this up.

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