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Sherilyn & Nicollette in Corolla May, 2007
Cut & paste the following link into your browser to see some short movies about Sherilyn's life
http://www.employees.org/~gmintel/sherilyn.htm
Sherilyn & Veronica's Diagnosis & History
Sherilyn was diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML) on 2/6/03 and underwent chemotherapy at Duke University Medical Center, spending months at a time in the hospital.
In March 2003, Sherilyn developed a life threatening fungal infection in her lungs, and was admitted to the PICU for weeks. She had fevers of 105+. She was put on a Bi-Pap machine to help her breathe because fluid developed in her lungs and around her heart. Her doctors didn't give us much hope, but our prayers were answered on Easter morning when her body began showing signs of recovery.
Sherilyn finished treatment in July, 2003 and was able to go home! She developed pancreatitis and was readmitted in August. Her weight got dangerously low due to many complications. Once at home, she continued to go to Duke for platelets and Immunoglobulin transfusions (IVIG). In Fall of 2003, Sherilyn went back to school for ½ days and in the Fall of 2004 full time.
Sherilyn was granted a wish through The Make A Wish Foundation, and our family was planning a trip to Hawaii to swim with the dolphins in Dec. 2004. Sadly, Sherilyn relapsed 12/6/04. The only cure for relapse of AML is a bone marrow transplant, so the process of locating a donor began. In Jan., 2005 Sherilyn developed fevers of 105+ during chemo. and went into Septic Shock, and was admitted to the PICU. After several more courses of chemo and a third trip to the PICU, Sherilyn was able to go home for a few days before 5 days of total body irradiation (TBI). On Feb. 28th, she was admitted to the Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant Unit. On March 7th, I had a central line placed so that I could give her my leukocytes (fighter white blood cells) to help her fight any infections she might get while being immune compromised. On March 8th she received bone marrow from a 43 year old minister (our angel) who lives in Mertzon, Texas. Her transplant went very well, but we were not allowed to go home. After being released from the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, we had to live in an apartment close to Duke so that she could be seen daily for signs of infection or Graft vs. Host disease. Finally, in early May, Sherilyn came HOME!!!!
In August, 2006 Sherilyn was FINALLY allowed to go back to school after missing 2+ years. We made contact with her bone marrow donor and were tentatively planning a trip to visit him in Oct........BUT......
On August 21, 2006 my daughter Veronica Lynn Adams was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leuekemia. Although she was on a different protocol than Sherilyn, she too spent months at a time at Duke undergoing aggressive treatment. She completed her treatment in Spring, 2007 and thankfully remains in remission. She continues to go to Duke regularly for checkups.
Sadly and unexpectedly, Sherilyn relapsed from her bone marrow transplant on 2/6/07, exactly 4 years from her initial diagnosis. She went back to Duke once again, had a central line placed and underwent 2 difficult rounds of chemo (a month each inpatient). Once again she went into remission quickly. During the 2nd round, she developed an infection and had to have surgery to remove a piece of her lung. Soon afterwards her leukemia came back. Her wonderful donor, Steve Fox, gave his leukocytes to try to force her back into remission, but unfortunately, that wasn't God's plan. Sherilyn decided she couldn't handle being in the hospital anymore, and decided enough was enough. She wanted to be home. She continued to go to the day hospital at Duke for platelets and blood products & low-dose chemo, but her little body could only take so much. We made the most of every day that we had left and praying for a miracle.
She was able to enjoy her Make a Wish trip to DisneyLand, California in July. We had so much fun! Unfortunately on the last day of our trip while in San Diego, Sherilyn developed another infection and was hospitalized for 4 nights. At this point approximately 98 percent of her bone marrow was leukemia cells. With God's grace she recovered and we came home. After this she developed one infection after another and her body was getting weaker and weaker.
She fought the hard fight until 2:11 am on November 14th, 2007. I was with her when she took her first breath & I was with her when she took her last. She died peacefully in my arms while I told her over and over that Jesus loved her. We know we will see her again. Until then, we are trying to make every day mean something. Christmas morning we were all given a gift from Sherilyn. Secretly she had made each of us a Build-A-Bear with a special recorded message. Each animal was completely personalized from Sherilyn (she had done all of this on-line and with the help of several neighbors). At the end of each message, she says, "I can't wait to see you in Heaven...I love you so much!" Sherilyn's final gift is priceless to all of us, but the wonderful memories we have of her short life, will last a lifetime.
We thank God for His blessings. We thank Sherilyn's donor for his gift of life and the new relationship that we have with him. We thank all of you for your continued love, support and prayers these past 4 years. We could not do it without you! Please continue to keep Veronica and the rest of our family in your prayers.
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