Brooke Mulford Update

1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY!

Well, here we are, exactly one year from the day that Brooke was diagnosed! It feels like a lifetime to me and I know that our lives have been forever changed. I am not the same person I was 1 year ago today. My faith has grown stronger. I really don’t know how a parent survives their child being diagnosed with cancer without having a relationship with God. I know that my faith has been tested many times on this journey but I also know that I always feel the most at peace when I focus on scripture. I know that there are a great number of prayers going up for Brooke everyday and I know that God is listening and I thank everyone for that from the bottom of my heart. I believe with all that I am that God has great plans for Brooke. We have been so blessed by the love and support that we have received and look forward to being able to pay it forward to others going through difficult times.

To recap what Brooke has been through this past year:

8 rounds of chemo (the last 2 of which were lethal doses followed by 2 Stem Cell Transplants), 3 surgeries (2 med comp “tubies” placements in January ’09 and her right Adrenal Gland was removed in May), her own stem cells were harvested for transplant in Feb, she had 12 rounds of radiation to her skull, abdomen & both femurs, 4 ambulance trips from PRMC in Salisbury to CHOP, dozens of blood and platelet transfusions (I lost track long ago of how many), 1 MRI, 5 Bone Marrow Biopsies (I think), numerous MIBG scans, Echocardiograms, EKG’s, X-rays & CT scans (have you seen the recent reports regarding the dangers of having too many CT scans? They said a person having 5 CT’s in a lifetime is like the equivalent of Hiroshima to the body…Brooke’s already had that many and many more to come), she has completed 2 of 5 rounds of antibodies & IL2, she has high frequency hearing loss as a result of the chemo and will be getting hearing aids for both ears, she has spent approximately 25 weeks as an inpatient in the hospital (not including the 2 ½ weeks outpatient for radiation at Univ of Penn).

In the process she has become an unknowing poster child for Neuroblastoma and pediatric cancer with her story being told in USA Today, Salisbury’s The Daily Times, SBYNEWS, Cool Kids Campaign newspaper, local tv stations WBOC & WMDT and Philadelphia’s Action News. Last month my mom was in a waiting room reading south jersey’s The Courier Post newspaper and Brooke’s picture was in there for a story about kids who beat cancer still face heart risks (nothing about Brooke in the story they just used her picture-she must be the stock photo for pediatric cancer now)! Any attention that will help bring awareness to NB and pediatric cancer is definitely a blessing as the funding is scarce.

Salisbury, MD & my hometown Westmont, NJ have rallied together to form Team Brooke and had numerous fundraisers for Brooke’s medical bills and for the NB Research Fund that we have created at CHOP in Brooke’s name. There were golf tournaments, bonfires, beef & beers, basket bingos, walks, concerts, sub sales, bake sales, and so many others. So many people have come together to help our family and we will forever be grateful.

This year has been a rollercoaster and it’s not over yet but we are getting there. I’m attaching a couple of videos I’ve made. The first one I posted about a month ago with the first couple months of Brooke’s journey and the second picks up around where the first leaves off. Hope you enjoy them and thank you again for coming along for the ride.