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Matthew's Fight - Never Give Up!!!!!!!! Matthew was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (A.L.L.)on November 27, 2000. After 3 years and 2 months of chemotherapy, Matthew officially completed chemotherapy on January 26, 2004!
Sadly, Matthew relapsed in December 2004. We begin this fight and journey once again. I am thrilled to share that on July 20th, 2007 Matthew finished chemo for the second and hopefully last time!
On October 10th at 4pm we received the horrible news that Matthew had relapsed again, this time in his Central Nervous System. Our world has been shattered once again. We are fighting for remission and then on to a bone marrow transplant.
On January 24th 2008 after Cranial, Total Body (TBI) and Testicular radiation and 3 days of very strong chemo, Matthew received the gift of life from an unrelated donor. Our hearts are filled with gratitude to the wonderful lady that donated her bone marrow to Matthew. We hope to make contact with her after the mandatory one year mark! My son is a fighter and one of the strongest young men that I know.
Normal Counts:
Hemoglobin 13.0-16.0
Platelets (Plates) 150,000-450,000
White Blood Cell(WBC) 4,500-13,500
AGC (ANC) 1000 or greater
Matthew’s Poem
By: Alicia Heimann
(Nursing Student at St. Mary’s College)
Cancer you say
What is that?
How can it be?
I am only eight.
That is still young you see.
My throat hurts.
That is all.
Nothing else.
Please explain this to me.
Mom says it is called,
Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia,
ALL for short,
Believe me I would rather be sick because of a sport.
The needles hurt.
What more can I say?
You give me poison,
And expect me to stay?
Alright, almost through.
My counts are up.
I feel brand new.
I did it!
I won!
The cancer is gone!
Mom calls me her victorious one.
Life goes on.
It seems so new.
Back to school, homework, sports and play
As normal kids do.
Uh, oh.
Not feeling so hot.
Mom, I think I need to see the doc.
He looks me in the eye.
Tells me the solemn news.
The cancer is back.
No time to lose.
I look at mom.
Scared and confused.
Am I going to die?
What do we do?
It’s not fair.
I do not see.
Is this a merry Christmas for me?
Harder this time.
Why is that so?
I have already taken such an extraordinary blow.
More needles.
I can hardly wait.
Hurry up already,
Give me my birthday cake.
Thirteen years old.
A brand new teen.
I am ready to fight,
To get my cells clean.
More chemo and drugs,
Some old, some new.
Just make sure,
The barf bucket is in view.
No hair on my head.
That is no bother.
Because neither does my awesome brother.
I love my mom,
Family and friends.
They all support me,
With out-stretched hands.
Trips to the hospital
Are no fun.
But, I do get to see,
The nurses I love.
Some days good.
Others bad.
That depends on the meds I have had.
Strong to the end.
Not a weak pup.
Continue to fight.
Never give up!
If you would like to help with the extremely high cost of Matthew's Bone Marrow Transplant, please send donations to:
St. Charles Borromeo, Attention: Margaret Sorg
4916 Trier Rd
Fort Wayne IN 46815
* Checks should be made out to: St. Charles Borromeo
* On the comment line please put: Matthew Fackler, account # 220.150.15
* If you desire a receipt/statement, please include a note requesting one.
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Matthew’s Worldwide Prayer Chain
I had another idea……I know I know…another crazy Mom idea….
We get guestbook entries and emails daily with wonderful loving, caring people assuring us that they are praying for Matthew. I thought it might be interesting to see how far around the world Matthew’s prayer chain can go. So, I thought I’d try to keep track daily when a new person from a new location lets us know they are praying for Matthew.
So, starting yesterday (1/13/08) I’m going to keep track and place the list above. So pass the word to your friends and family far and wide…… “Please Pray for Matthew!”
1. Alabama, USA
2. Antwerp, Belgium
3. Arizona, USA
4. Arkansas, USA
5. Auckland, New Zealand
6. Australia
7. Baumholder, Germany
8. Barcelona, Spain
9. British Columbia, Canada
10. Buenos Aires, Argentina
11. Cairo, Egypt
12. California, USA
13. Changzhou, JS China
14. Colorado, USA
15. Connecticut, USA
16. Florida, USA
17. Focsani, Romania
18. Gent, Belgium
19. Georgia, USA
20. Great Western, Australia
21. Holland
22. Idaho, USA
23. Illinois, USA
24. Iowa, USA
25. Indiana, USA
26. Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada
27. Kelowna, British Columbia
28. Kentucky, USA
29. Lankaran, Azerbaijan
30. Lima, Peru
31. Louisiana, USA
32. London, England
33. Luanda, Angola
34. Luxembourg, Europe
35. Lyons, France
36. Maine, USA
37. Manitoba, Canada
38. Maryland, USA
39. Massachusetts, USA
40. Michigan, USA
41. Minnesota, USA
42. Mississippi, USA
43. Missouri, USA
44. Montana, USA
45. Moscow, Russia
46. Nebraska, USA
47. Nevada, USA
48. New Hampshire, USA
49. New Jersey, USA
50. New Mexico, USA
51. New York, USA
52. North Carolina, USA
53. North Dakota, USA
54. Ohio, USA
55. Oklahoma, USA
56. Oregon, USA
57. Ottawa, Canada
58. Pennsylvania, USA
59. Rhode Island, USA
60. Saint-Brieuc, France
61. Sotogrande, Spain
62. South Carolina, USA
63. South Dakota, USA
64. Tennesee, USA
65. Texas, USA
66. Vannes, France
67. Vermont, USA
68. Virginia, USA
69. Washington, USA
70. Washington DC, USA
71. West Virginia, USA
72. Wisconsin, USA
73.Paris, France
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We still have cookbooks available!!!
If you would like one you can get one by
• Contact Sandy by email at teamnevergiveup@comcast.net.
• Pick up at the St. Charles Parish Office.
Thank you from our entire family……..
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Here’s to Matthew ….....By Tammy from New Mexico
Matthew’s just a youngin’
only 16 years of age
He’s been through more than most of us
Oh, how can he explain …
The trials that he’s conquered,
The efforts that have poured
through his veins and onward,
from the people on his ward.
We pray for you, oh Matthew.
We pray that you would be
the son that defies logic,
and defines humanity.
We pray your stable spirit
will prevail on through these fights,
We pray the Lord will guide you
and keep you through the nights.
We pray for something awesome,
something power, something free.
We pray these words to reach you
and touch upon your cheek.
Dear Matthew, you are held
in prayers around the earth.
Your story touches all of us,
and all of us have heard
the gentle voice of heaven
just a whisperin’ your name
for us to pray and honor
the call from God again.
To pray for all our neighbors,
To pray for peace and love,
and offer our thanksgivings
to the One who lives above.
Amen.
Journal
Thursday, August 21, 2008 9:01 AM ET
Day 209
No alarms today! Hooray! Matthew slept very well. Mom, on the other hand, couldn’t sleep. I read until 3am! I can’t tell if it was from the chair/bed thingie starting to wear on my stinky back, laying here thinking of all the “what ifs” that might be wrong with Matthew stomach, or maybe it was the gallon of diet coke I drank yesterday….hmmmm…
Did I mention that we are on the hem/onc side of the 5th floor since the BMT side is full? Well, being over here has its perks that’s for sure. For one, Mom can eat or drink in the room. Well since Matthew is NPO I don’t eat but I do drink and drink and drink…if only one of those diet cokes were a margarita maybe I could have slept. Second perk is that we can shower in the bathroom right here in his room. Well, that would have been a good thing because as you might recall the swamp land type shower from our January days. The only problem was that there was no hot water here in the room….hmmm swamp or cold …swamp or cold…. The third perk and by far the most important in my book is that we can use the toity in the room! And trust me after the two gallons of pop that is a huge perk!
The GI doc stopped by this morning whilst I was freezing in the shower and told Matthew that today he is first on the “stand by” list (unlike yesterday’s third) so there is a slight possibility the scope may happen today. (insert growling sound)
Matthew does seem to feel somewhat better (thanks to the IV fluids and IV Zofran). We are just hoping for the scope to show us the problem. I have been warned by several that the scope may not show anything. I guess there are a lot of nerves in the stomach that can get irritated. I’ve heard ulcers, fungus, bacteria and GVHD thrown around as possibilities…so we’ll see. Hopefully they figure whatever it might be and fix it!
Well, I’m off to find a diet coke ….sure wish I’d find a Diet Dr. Pepper………
Love,
The Dynamic Duo
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Wednesday, August 20, 2008 8:01 PM
Day 208 Update 2
No scope done today. This flying standby sure requires a lot of patience! Matthew ate some scrambled eggs after they told us “no scope today”. He was miserable after the fact of course but at least he ate something.
Keep praying!
Love,
The Dynamic Duo
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Day 208 2Pm Update
Just so poor Stacey from Vegas can get back to work saving the dogs….here’s the scoop
NOTHING
Matthew is on the “list” to “squeeze in” if they “can” get him “in” today. The good news is that he is on IV’s and Zofran so he is feeling and looking somewhat better. Of course, since he’s “on the list” he is NPO (which means no food or drink) so he’s hungry. Of course even if he wasn’t “on the list” and he tried to eat he probably couldn’t eat more than a bite or two without the pain starting up again. SIGH
So, we are resting, doing crossword puzzles, reading (one eyed) and checking out the world on the internet. Mary Ann and Sarah both stopped by to check up on us and to let us know they are keeping an eye on our progress.
Matthew’s counts all tanked downward somewhat…not sure what that is all about…never a dull moment.
The elevators in the “A” building were out this morning, so we had all sorts of alarms going off at 5 am. I think that was the excitement for the day….ho hum.
Keep praying!
Later………..the dynamic duo
PS….Please donate!! Please join team Never Give Up!! (my not so subtle hint for the day)
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Tuesday, August 19, 2008 8:01 PM
Day 207
Reporting live from the 5th floor of Cincinnati Childrens ….yes we are inpatient. It has been a long day here in the trenches but we are bound and determined to get Matthew feeling better.
We arrived at Day Hospital around noon. They ran some labs and started his pre-medications for the IVig. Within 10 minutes of the IVig infusion, Matthew had a killer migraine. Luckily the Maxalt (the wonder drug) helped. But in addition to the headache he felt pretty nauseous. He just does not get along with IVig too well.
Around 4pm the GI doctor arrived for the consult. He felt the only way to know what was going on was to do the endoscopy. (yup, pretty much as we all expected) Then he proceeds to say “we can get him in NEXT Friday”. Needless to say, this frustrated Mamma Bear wasn’t too happy with that answer. So, the doc and I discussed “other options” and then he left to go discuss with the BMT team. Mamma Bear headed out the door the other direction to go vent with our NP and BMT coordinator (I love you guys so much) who calmly listened to my concerns. They brought Dr. J over to have a pow wow.
We powed and wowed for a bit and came up with a plan.
Since Matthew is pretty dehydrated and isn’t eating squat and hasn’t been for weeks now, we decided to admit him. This way we can keep him on IV fluids, keep him on IV Zofran, run some more viral tests and cultures that Lutheran can’t do and hopefully push us thru the system for the scope with in the next day or two. We also hope to be able to meet with the Neurologist about his continuing migraines.
I was pretty stressed over this. I just want Matthew to feel better…period…end of story…..
Matthew on the other hand was NOT happy about being admitted. He really does NOT want to be here. I can’t say that I blame him but as I told him…we want to figure this out soon…. We want to get him feeling better. He continues to lose weight and just looks and feels a bit like dog do-do.
So, here we are…..please say a prayer that they can figure out what is going on and that they can get him feeling better really soon.
Love,
The Dynamic Duo
Read Journal History
Hospital Information: Home Sweet Home!!!
Links: http://teams.lightthenight.org/NeverGiveUp_LutheranHospitalCampus Team Never Give Up - Light the Night 2008
http://www.active.com/donate/ltnIndian2/2458_vinsonn Nancy's Light the Night Fundraising Page! Please donate today!
http://home.comcast.net/~nvinson/Komet.jpg Matthew's Article in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette-Double click to make it more clear!
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