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My name is Jeff Flanagan and my daughter, Taylor, is now a 16 yr old Junior at Etowah High in Woodstock, GA. On October 28, 2010 she was diagnosed with AML, a very aggressive form of leukemia. Within 5 days she was started on extensive chemotherapy treatments. We were initially told she was going to have 5 total rounds of chemo, each lasting approximately 10 days and leaving her in the hospital for weeks with every treatment...but, she was the 1st in GA to only have to go through 4 rounds of her type of treatments. She was able to come home on Easter Day of 2011 and has been doing great since! My family and I thank everyone for all the prayers and thoughts over the last year! For more information on AML Leukemia, please see "AML Information" below.

Donation Page

All donations made will go to the Flanagan family to help cover any remaining out of pocket expenses for Taylor's medical bills. If you do not care to go through Paypal, you can also send donations made out to: Jeff & Ashley Flanagan P.O. Box 818 Holly Springs, GA 30142 Any and all donations are greatly appreciated, no amount is too small!

AML Information

"AML Information" - AML (acute myeloid leukemia) is diagnosed in about 20% of children with leukemia and approximately 500 children are diagnosed in the U.S. each year.

Leukemia is cancer of the blood. It develops in the bone marrow, the spongy center of the long bones that produces the three major blood cells: white blood cells fight infection, red blood cells that carry oxygen and platelets that help blood clot and stop bleeding. When a child has leukemia, the bone marrow begins to make white blood cells that do not mature correctly, but continue to reproduce themselves. Normal, healthy cells only reproduce when there is enough space for them to fit. With leukemia, these cells do not respond to the signals to stop and they reproduce, regardless of space available. These abnormal cells reproduce quickly and when they begin to crowd out other healthy cells in the marrow, symptoms of leukemia are experienced.

Symptoms of leukemia usually occur over a short period of days to weeks. Some of the signs and symptoms for AML can be tiredness or no energy, shortness of breath during physical activity, pale skin, swollen gums, slow healing of cuts, pinhead-size red spots under the skin, prolonged bleeding from minor cuts, mild fever, aches in bones, black-and-blue marks (bruises) with no clear issue.

Patients with AML need to start chemotherapy immediately. There are two (2) parts of treatment; induction therapy and consolidation therapy. The aim of induction therapy is to kill as many AML cells as possible and get good blood cell counts back to normal. When the aim of induction therapy is achieved, it is called a remission. Induction therapy is done at the hospital and most patients are there for three to four weeks. Combining drug types can strengthen the effects of the drugs and two or more chemo's are usually used together to treat AML. Most chemo's are given through a catheter placed into a vein, usually in the persons upper chest area. The first round of chemo usually does not get rid of all AML cells and most require more treatment. Usually the same drugs are used for additional rounds of chemo. Consolidation therapy is needed because some AML cells remain that are not found by common blood or marrow tests. Consolidation therapy is also done in the hospital and as with induction therapy, patients may be in the hospital for three to four weeks at a time.







Friday, November 12, 2010

November 12, 2010 - GOOD Day Today!

We finally got the bone marrow results back today and she does NOT have to have a bone marrow transplant...that is the best thing we have heard in awhile! The doctors were very happy with what they saw and said that her blood cells look great. She will come home in approximately 2 1/2 to 3 weeks given that her blood counts are where they need to be and that she is feeling ok. It's not as soon as we hoped it would be, but I am almost more comfortable with her being at the hospital and knowing she is getting the best care possible here!!

When she gets home, she is going to have to take extreme care especially with her hygiene. We have to make sure her sheets are changed at least every day or every other day, no reusing towels, no leftover foods, etc. She can leave the house and go out places but has to wear a mask and avoid crowds...no movies on an opening night, no mall on black Friday, no restaurants at prime eating time, etc, etc...She will also have to be carrying a thermometer with her at all times and checking her temperature constantly. Any sign of a fever could mean an infection in the blood which spreads extremely fast in which case she would have to be rushed to an emergency room a.s.a.p.

When she comes back for her second round of chemo they will do another bone marrow test on her to make sure everything is still clear. As long as everything still looks good, she will continue on with her treatments as planned to help make sure the leukemia doesn't come back, but she will technically be considered in remission at that point...so that is what we are going to continue to pray for!

Today was a little bit of a rough day for her, not too terribly bad though...she was just running a mild fever and feeling a little weak. They gave her a blood transfusion and within an hour she was getting some color back. I was totally disappointed when I got here though...I found out that Cindy Crawford came by the kids rooms today to pay them all a visit. Then I was made to feel really old...Cindy wanted to meet Taylor and she said she didn't know who that was and went back to sleep haha. Who doesn't know Cindy Crawford?!?!?! She did still get an autographed picture of her though and it was made out to Taylor, so that was kind of nice. So, please keep the prayers coming because they are totally working for us!!
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1 comment:

  1. Aimee Cox November 12, 2010 at 5:24 PM

    Ashley, that is absolutely wonderful news!! One day at a time, and one good thing at a time. I have no doubt that there will be more good news to come! Prayer is powerful, and she has got a band of prayer warriors on her side! Thank you for the update. Keep fighting, Tay! You have no clue how many people are in your corner of the ring pulling for you!!

    Love,
    Aimee & Greg

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