My name is Laura Davis. I am a mother to two amazing boys, Cole and Kaden, a wife to my husband Joshua, and a Student Success Specialist at a University in Pennsylvania. On January 15th of 2020, our lives were turned upside down. Our 14-year-old son, Cole, was diagnosed with T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). Our tough, strong-willed, courageous, athletic, and intelligent son was now facing a terrible battle.
Cole loves playing football and ice hockey and is incredibly intelligent and introspective. He is an “old soul” some people say. He loves history and World War II and immerses himself in every book he can find on the subject. Cole is passionate and driven, but also quiet and stoic. These qualities have aided him this year in his battle against Leukemia, helping him preserve through setbacks, adverse reactions, disappointments, and struggles.
In January, Cole had some minor ailments, swollen lymph nodes, lethargy, and headaches. After an Urgent Care visit and a pediatrician appointment two days later, mononucleosis was suspected. That evening, I got the news no parent ever wants to hear. I don’t remember everything the Doctor said, I do remember her asking me to sit down and that the blood test showed a White Blood Cell count of over 300,000. That this was concerning for leukemia. I did not know how large that number actually was and what it really meant until later that evening.
After a whirlwind through the ER and admission to the PICU, additional tests supported the diagnosis of ALL. We had a ten-day hospital stay with numerous tests, a port placement, tons of medications, and treatments. Cole was placed in the high-risk category due to his age and white blood cell count at diagnosis.
For the next few weeks of treatment, there were many bumps in the road. A port that never healed became infected and was removed. A few weeks later, Cole was hospitalized for fevers. Since he did not have a port at the time, he had multiple IVs and was stuck several times a day for blood draws. As if this wasn’t enough, he developed cellulitis in one of the IV sites.
Then he had a reaction to a chemo drug, Peg-Asparagase. The Doctors determined it was a grade one reaction and they were going to “re-challenge” the medication in the PICU with pre-medications. This is where they give additional medications to your child to try to get their body to take the drug they are rejecting. It must be done in the PICU and is done because of how important this drug is for survival. Cole progressed through the re-trial and did fine. We went to the clinic for his next dose, he had a grade three reaction which means Cole vomited, his blood pressure dropped, and he passed out. He needed an epi pen injection. Watching your child struggle and call out to you for help when you are helpless is one of the most difficult things a mother can endure. Thank God the Doctors and nurses in the clinic are highly trained in these incidents and the Doctor who saved his life at first diagnosis, did it again.
The reaction meant Cole could no longer receive this life-saving medication. There was only one alternative, Erwinaze, but that medication was on a national drug-shortage. At this point, Cole needed five courses of Erwinaze. The hospital was able to get two courses, but then the shortage grew worse and we couldn’t find anymore. I am a school counselor and employed as a Success Specialist. In short, I find and connect students to the resources they need to be successful. I was not going to take no for an answer. My child needed this medication. So, I was going to find it for him. I called the drug company and they connected me to Angels for Change and Laura Bray.
I presented Laura with a huge challenge. We needed 90 vials of Erwinaze in about three months. There wasn’t another batch due to be manufactured and released and supplies were depleted. Immediately, Laura got to work. She told me she would try to help. She listened and understood. In about a week, Laura had found enough medication for the first course.
Cole went through the course of Erwinaze. He developed hyperglycemia due to the combination of the drugs he was taking at the time. This happened because the medication wasn’t given at the correct protocol specified time due to the shortage, the combination of the drugs caused Cole to need insulin shots. The timing of the protocol is so important. My son has been through many battles the last 10 months. He faced each battle with a stoic nature and quiet strength. For him to have to face this addition challenge seems so unfair.
After finding the first course Laura and Angels for Change, kept working and were able to find us the other 60 vials. We received our final course of Erwinaze. Cole can now move into maintenance phase fully completing all of his protocol required chemotherapy. 90 vials all found and secured through Angels for Change.
I thank God that I was connected to Laura Bray and Angels for Change because I do not want to think of the alternative. This is a medication that many cancer warriors need to be successful in treatment. Children who have a reaction to Peg-Aspargase cannot continue with that medication and need Erwinaze. We have the protocol in place that gives our children a 90% plus survival rate for some forms of leukemia. It breaks my heart that we have a plan to survival, but not the tools to carry out the plan.
Laura Bray has gone above and beyond advocacy. She is there for me every step of the way. Knowing I am no longer alone in this journey and to have a connection with someone who has been through this means the world to me. The Angels for Change Mission is extremely close to our family’s heart and Laura Bray has positively impacted our lives forever.