JESSICA MORELAND

Welcome to our CaringBridge site. It has been created to keep friends and family updated about our loved one.

My Story is the introduction to our CaringBridge site.

Be sure to read the latest in the journal, view the photo gallery, and drop us a line in the guestbook.



As you all know, Jess was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia on April 28, 2008. We opted for treatment at Johns Hopkins Hospital, where she has gotten outstanding care. Jess has handled this illness with a very positive attitude, and is responding to treatment very well. She does have a genetic mutation known as BCR-ABL, also called Philadelphia chromosome. This makes her leukemia harder to treat, and because of her age and the genetics, she is considered a very high risk for recurrance. The doctors are very pleased with her progress. She was in remission after a month. They sent her last bone marrow asrpirate to a special lab that looks specifically for the Philiadelphia chromosome, and they found less than 1%. Her doctor says that this is great news, and that those kids that have been studied and have done as well as her to this point generally have a very good outcome. We will continue to pray about that. He treatment is "the worst of the worst" as one of her doctors put it. She has to go through 1 year of heavy chemo, then another year and a half of maintenence and will continue very close follow up here at Hopkins. She is admitted monthly for her chemo, some worse than others. When she is not inpatient, we come to outpatient clinic for monitoring at least weekly. That is when they check her labs, give her blood, platelets, or anything else she needs. We can't say enough about the doctors and nurses here. Thank God for them...