Todayโs the day
The day we begin the new CAR-T Therapy.
Averyโs day starts at 7:30am when they take her downstairs to insert the line theyโll be using to harvest her T-cells, as well as do another bone marrow biopsy.
Then, she is tentatively scheduled to begin the CAR-T Therapy process around noon.
The team from Carter BloodCare will do the โharvesting.โ They will take some of her blood that contains the T-cells.
The process will take about 4 hours and requires Avery to lie down for the duration.
Today that may not be a challenge because sheโll be groggy from the anesthesia from the line insertion and biopsy.
But, they have to draw a certain amount of T-cells no matter the size of the patient, so it could take up to 3 days with babies.
Fortunately, Averyโs counts have been high over the past few days, so weโre hoping we donโt need that third day at least.
Then we wait.
We wait for the biopsy results to come back and tell us how well her cancer has responded to the last chemo.
And we wait for the reprogramming of the T-cells over the next 3-4 weeks.
Then, itโs more waiting to see if, once introduced back into her little body, they are able to do the job they were trained to do.
Itโs going to be a long process with lots of waiting, but weโve seen Avery kick cancerโs booty before, and fully expect her to do it again. For good.
Please pray for a successful procedure today; good harvest day; and our hearts as we wait. Weโre anxious but encouraged.
Mostly, pray for Averyโs little body as it endures the process. She is the strongest warrior we know.
