Charlene & Mike Krause were given less than 10% odds of conceiving a child. On January 7, 2004, they were fortunate enough to give birth to a beautiful blonde haired blue-eyed girl - she was the epitome of healthiness, and the Hospital called her the 'miracle baby'. She was named Julia May Krause. Their dream of such a perfect and wonderful life had just begun.

On August 7th, behind closed doors, they were given the saddest news any parent could ever receive. Baby Julia - only a mere 7 months of age, had been diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. She was full of cancer. Her strand of leukemia was diagnosed as 'A.L.L. T-Cell', which is very rare for any child under the age of 1 year. The odds of her contracting this cancer were 10-12 in 1,000,000. Her prognosis was grim to say the least, and her rate of survival had been deemed less than 30%.

On October 5, Baby Julia was placed on her final Protocol. The first Protocol had failed after numerous months of trying to reach remission. This was the last Protocol she would be placed on, as no others exist. It is referred to as 'T-Cell BMF', and is a Protocol based out of Germany. On December 23, 2004, remission was finally achieved! On December 27, 2004, a Bone Marrow match was found. The donor was a 9/10 match for baby Julia.

On March 2, 2005 Baby Julia was transported to the Toronto Hospital for Sick Children. Once there, she underwent massive dosages of chemotherapy and full body radiation. Her Bone Marrow Transplant was performed 8 days later.

The actual day of Julia's Transplant was Day 0 (March 10, 2005). The next 100 days are the most critical, and they are referred to as Day +1, Day +2 etc.

Julia was placed in total isolation, and would not start her "step down" program for 7 - 21 days following the Transplant. She was administered a round of methatrexate on Day 3 (chemotherapy). It was a very small dosage, and would be administered 4 times over the next 3 weeks (Day 3, 6, 11, 18). The purpose of it is to ward off any potential cancer cells that remain in her system since the Transplant. As well, she was administered another drug referred to as GCSF, which was to be given daily starting on Day +5.

Baby Julia remained very lethargic and tired. For the most part, she stayed awake and only stared. It was very rare that she would talk or mumble. She was very sick, and her parents were advised she would deteriorate over the next few days before she starts to get better. This was expected after a Transplant. Baby Julia lost nearly 4 pounds after being in Toronto Hospital for Sick Children for only 12 days. This placed her weight at a mere 14 pounds.

For weeks Baby Julia battled fevers, vomiting and sores in her digestive tract. With each fever her family feared infections, and it was the "roller coaster ride they just can't seem to get off of". When they were just about at their wits end they would be blessed with a good day. One day of no fevers, a lot of smiles, and a great giggle session with her Daddy. It was a gift, a day that they could enjoy. One day in particular, she was given a platelet transfusion early in the morning, and at noon was sent for a CT Scan. Although she was sedated with general anesthetic, she REALLY enjoyed getting out of her isolation room for the big 5-minute trip! She was in awe, and pointed and grunted at everything she saw!

On Day 22, April 1st 2005, Julia was engrafted. There were signs of this starting on March 29th. There is a unit in your blood referred to as "polys". It is another part of your blood system such as red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets etc… Being engrafted requires Julia obtaining a "poly" reading of .5 for two consecutive days.

On Day 23, one month after arriving at Toronto Hospital for Sick Children; Baby Julia's transplant appeared successful. Since she had started to engraft, Julia began what is referred to as the "step down" process. There was a little more leniency given, and she was allowed to visit people in the lounge provided she was in her "plastic bubble".

It has been a long and tiring year. In March of 2006, Baby Julia, now a two year old, celebrated her first anniversary since the date of her Transplant. If not for her anonymous donor we never would have had the privilege and honor to see her grow and develop into the wonderful person she is becoming. We certainly cherish every moment we have with her.

Part 1 | Part 2

---

Do you have a story you would like to share? If so, please send it to us so that we can post it on this site. Send to stories@givemarrow.net.