Page 259 - The Exceptional Harley Fetterman

THE EXCEPTIONAL HARLEY FETTERMAN

“His brain tumor required brain surgery, chemo therapy, and
caused blindness, all about when he started kindergarten. It also
affected his growth. One thing cancer never affected was his humor.
The same could be said for his drive and his concern for family
members and others. Harley was interested in everything, and that
never seemed to wane either.”
“Multiple surgeries and two rounds of chemo appeared to insure a
long and happy life; he was done with all treatments! One semi-
annual check showed abnormalities in the blood, which quickly
became leukemia. Our exhaustive search for a lifesaving bone
marrow donor struck out, here and internationally.”

“Desperate, we were transferred to Houston for a haploid bone
marrow transplant. They would use Harley’s Mom as the donor. (He
received her cells during last year’s St. Baldrick’s event) When that
transplant was declared a failure he was given cord blood that
recently had been harvested. Again, Harley’s body looked like it
rejected the new cells. During this time, his body was losing the
battle. His kidneys, pancreas, and other organs were damaged from
the excessive chemo and radiation being administered to prepare for
these treatments. His body was weak, but his spirit was so strong.”
“Once again, they collected from Beth and took us up the roller-
coaster by telling us her cells were robust enough to survive toxins
and other cells being transfused so it has to be win-win, right?
Wrong. Now the neuropathy in his feet and hands was so severe that
he couldn’t stand or play any of his instruments or even read braille.”
“The doctors told us, and an hour later they told him the only
thing they could do for him now was make him comfortable. He
consoled them first by telling them not to feel bad; they did all they
could do, and if they made any missteps, maybe they will get it right
on the next patient. Harley tried to comfort us by telling us he wanted
to be kept alive long enough to say goodbye to his family and
requesting songs to play on the iPod. He told several visitors to watch
over us because he worries about us.”
“Harley Franklin Fetterman died four weeks after he turned
eighteen. He had been on constant oxygen, dialysis, bladder
irrigation, and nearly constant whole blood transfusions for the

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