|
Update from Dany's Parents...
April 21, 2008...
Dany is spending some days at home in Kitchener. He is still subject to
some symptoms that affect his general health and is also in the process of
regaining his body strength. He is having regular weekly follow ups at
Karmanos hospital in Detroit.
The recovery time usually takes about 1 year according to the treating
physicians and so far everything looks good, all the blood tests performed
came back as normal.
As a family, we give all the Praise and Glory to Jesus, He is the giver of
Life. Blessed be His Name.
Please accept our most heartfelt gratitude for all of your help and
sincere solidarity when it was most needed.
Thank you again, God bless you!
Luis and Ileana Mercado.
April 3, 2008...
Exactly 11 weeks after being admitted to Karmanos Cancer Institute in
Detroit, Michigan, and 10 weeks after his bone marrow transplant, Dany
Mercado has been discharged and moved to an apartment on the grounds of
the hospital complex.
This ordeal has been long but in many ways remarkable.
The first real obstacle was finding a compatible bone marrow donor. The
donor that was finally identified had a 7/8 match with Dany's bone marrow.
(Prior to the donor being located, Canadian doctors had 'given up' on
Dany.)
- Fundraising and receiving
approval from OHIP to cover a substantial portion of hospital
costs only.
- Surviving the various
treatments of chemotherapy and radiation.
- The quick response of his body
to successfully 'graft' the donated bone marrow.
|
Furthermore, a few weeks after the
transplant, when the bone marrow was grafting, a fungus infection in
Dany's lung was discovered and necessitated major (4-hours) surgery.
Miraculously Dany came through this process at a time when his defenses
were very low.
It continues to be a difficult battle. Dany has lost more than 35 pounds.
He is still subject to frequent low-grade fevers. Slowly he is regaining
his strength. He will continue to receive very frequent and specialized
medical attention until he is ready to be sent home. Generally with bone
marrow transplants, the first 100 days are critical. We are hoping Dany
will be ready to return home at the end of that time.
Throughout his stay in the hospital, Dany has been accompanied by his
mother, other family members and friends. The doctors expressed the
importance of the strong support Dany has been receiving and will need
extra support while out of the hospital.
Thanks so much for all the prayers and well wishes from all of those
caring people.
Jesus is with us, from the beginning to the end!
Luis and Ileana Mercado.
January 09, 2008...
We have very recently been informed that OHIP will assist in the cost of
Dany's transplant operation. We are so thankful for this tremendous news.
Although OHIP will be assisting with the actual cost of the transplant
itself, there are other significant expenses that OHIP will not cover,
mainly for essential procedures pre- and post-operation and any unforeseen
expenditures.
These pre- and post-operation procedures that are not
covered by OHIP are being paid for with the funds that have been raised
during the campaigning period. We are now in a financial position to be
able to move forward with the transplant at this time! This is a real
VICTORY for Dany. Dany was admitted to Karmanos Cancer Center in Detroit,
Michigan on January 7, 2008. According to the doctors there, he will need
to stay in Detroit a minimum of three months, depending if all goes well.
In our budgeting with Karmanos, we have not planned for any complications
or changes. Therefore, the funds raised will greatly help with the
additional expenses incurred and any costs that may arise due to potential
complications.
So many people have helped and worked alongside us to get
to the point we are now at! We are extremely grateful for the
accomplishments and support up to this point, but we are now changing our
focus. We want to shift all of our energies from fundraising to prayer,
especially during the critical months of January and February.
We are asking the Lord Jesus Christ for the miracle of
guiding the transplant and all the related procedures in order to restore
Dany to excellent health. The Mercado family is requesting that you join
with them in prayer and fasting, asking the Lord to do this great work for
Dany. God bless you all!
Luis and Ileana Mercado.
December 8, 2007...
Dany is recovering from the
chemotherapy treatment and it is almost done at
Grand River
Regional Cancer Centre.
He has an appointment at Karmanos hospital next week for an assessment
before the transplant. God has given him strength and courage to keep
going. Please pray that the assessment will find him well enough for the
transplant. Luis and Ileana Mercado.
December 1, 2007...
"Dany is grateful for all the
showing of support from everybody that is part of Conestoga College. He is
amazed for the spontaneous help for his cause. He is determined to get
well soon to send a message of appreciation to all of his supporters. God
bless everyone abundantly". Luis and Ileana Mercado.
November 17, 2007... Dany is at currently at
Grand River
Regional Cancer Centre. He has been their
since November 2 in order to stabilize his general physical
condition. At the present moment, his health is fragile due to
constant low levels of platelets in his bloodstream. We are asking
for prayers to Jesus so he can regain strength and be able to resume
chemotherapy. Dany is sorry that he hasn't been able to reply to any
personal e-mail sent to him. He is thankful for all the prayers and
support from everybody. God Bless.
Luis and Ileana Mercado.
|
