We got some not great news today. Apparently, despite the chromasomal advantage that we were told she had against her leukemia, Lydia has a “gene deletion” issue. This condition is rarely ever seen with her chromosome situation, so the doctors are somewhat stumped. Basically she is now out of the 97% estimated success rate she had been upgraded to previously, and is back in the 85-95% range.
In addition, there is a genetic mutation that was found that has one of two possibilities:
1. It is being caused by the cancer, in which case nothing really changes from what we already knew.
2. It predated her leukemia, and is in all her cells. If this is the case, it means she is genetically predisposed to getting cancer and will need to be regularly screened for the rest of her life. Additionally, the other kids would also need to be tested for the mutation, as it was likely passed down through either Sarah or myself.
All of this is pretty discouraging, and we are doing our best to remain positive and optimistic. It is not, however, all bad news.
She has a marrow biopsy tomorrow, and the blood work she had today indicates she does not need a transfusion to prepare for it. Good blood levels are a good sign that the treatment is working.
Also, she has not yet been classified as a “high risk” case. The marrow biopsy tomorrow will be definitive in letting us know what to expect. We will get the results early next week. Ideally, she should be in remission at this point. Please pray that the marrow biopsy shows remission!!!
Please pray for strength for us, guidance for the doctors, and healing for Lydia.
Thank you all for everything,
The Jacquets