3 Months Post Gene Therapy

Today Keira began her 3-day 3-month post gene therapy check up. She had an EEG, bloodwork and saw the orthopedic surgeon. Tomorrow, December 29th, she gets an MRI, lumbar puncture and bone marrow aspirate. Then on December 31st, she has a neurological evaluation and physiotherapy evaluation.

We get some results as they arrive this week (we already know her hemoglobin levels are rising, which is great) but the most notable results won’t come until the beginning of February. That is when we will be able to get our first big picture of how her body is accepting the renewed genes.

In the meantime, the team at San Raffaele has asked us to send videos of her development (walking, talking, etc) so they can monitor her progress from afar prior to our return in April for her 6-month check up.

She already took her first step on Christmas Day and is beginning to talk more (saying hi, bye bye, waving ciao, etc), so we are not concerned. However, Olivia was the same way at this stage in life as well. It wasn’t until around 18 months that she began to have issues. So we will of course be nervous once that day rolls around but the results in February could put all those worries aside.

We have already said many goodbyes to the team at San Raffaele (who are true angels and miracle workers – I will share more about them soon) because days after Keira’s check up we leave for Amsterdam for Olivia’s final treatment there before heading home to Arizona on January 8th.

What a whirlwind this experience has been. This year has been. We will miss our new friends, and the many doctors and nurses, who have been by our side during our time here. But we are excited to be home and beyond hopeful for Keira’s future.

Heading Home Soon

It’s taken me a while to write this post – some VERY exciting news – not just because of lack of time while juggling the girls, work, the holidays, etc. But also because, for me, it’s bittersweet.

On January 8th we are heading home to Arizona!

It’s earlier than we expected based upon Keira’s rebirthday/gene therapy date (Oct 2nd, 2020) and how quickly her body has recovered from the chemotherapy. We could not be happier with how well she has done throughout this whole process!

At the end of December she will have her final hospital stay, which will be her 3-month post-gene therapy check up. During this stay, they will do a lumbar puncture, bone marrow aspirate, MRI and remove her central line. Results won’t come in for 4-6 weeks following but we remain so hopeful and positive given how she is continuing to develop. Fingers crossed!!!

The bittersweet part? For me, it’s a few things. Italy now has a special place in all of our hearts for the potentially life-saving treatment Keira just received, the team in Amsterdam that has been treating Olivia is absolutely amazing (she loves them and we will all miss them), but I also dread going back home and facing the reality of Livvy’s very limited future. I know that’s inevitable and we would face it no matter where in the world we are but going back home makes it feel one step closer. It will be time to enroll her in long term care, figure out how we may need to handicap the house for her future needs, schedule in-home PT, OT, etc. It’s a lot.

But as Dave continues to remind me, there are so many positives that will also come along with being home…back in our own house and our own beds, not having to worry about a time difference to talk to family or schedule work calls, Eva getting back to school and life as “normal” despite COVID, etc. It WILL be a good thing for all of us.

And from this point forward Italy and the Netherlands will both hold a special place in our hearts. ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

Italian Cooking Lessons

With COVID-19 being an ongoing issue, we haven’t been able to get out and do much of anything during our time here in Italy. But we have been blessed to meet some truly wonderful people who have taught us a thing or two in the kitchen.

Laura came over one day to teach us how to make a proper Italian pizza. She and Silvio always make their own dough but because it takes 2-3 hours she did that ahead of time and brought it over. She said the bakeries here also premake it for you to purchase to save time.

Eva took everyone’s orders – she and Laura were making cheese pizza and olive pizza with capers – then started rolling out the dough. We always try to keep Livvy as involved as we can so I helped her roll some dough too.

Next steps were spreading the sauce, putting on the mozzarella and drizzling some olive oil.

After adding any toppings, the pizzas went in the oven and ta da! The perfect Italian pizzas were made! And they were delizioso!

Our next lesson came from Luciano, who taught us to make a great pesto sauce for any pasta.

Take some tomatoes (supplemented with some tomato sauce if they are not as ripe or in season), basil leaves, olive oil, cheese (we used parmigiano I believe along with a goat cheese), pine nuts and blend it all up in a food processor or with a hand mixer. And you’re done!

Luciano also gave Dave a great recipe for pasta with broccoli and another homemade sauce. It was so easy to make that Dave no longer wants to buy pasta sauce at the store. Super easy and even our toughest critic (aka pickiest eater) Eva liked it! 👌🏻

Last but certainly not least, tiramisu! When Roberto heard we really enjoyed that he surprised us by bringing over the ingredients one day so we could make it while Eva and his daughter Chiara played. Here’s the recipe from Dave’s notes:

Tiramisu

Espresso 200ml-ish
Put into bowl to cool

1/2 kg marscapone
Sugar
6 eggs
Savoiardi biscuits

Separate yolk and whites
Whip/froth whites
Put marscapone into mixing bowl
Fold in whites
Fold in yolks
Fold in sugar
Then whip again

Dust pan with Cacao zuccherato
Dunk biscuits (quickly) into coffee and layer pan.

Layer chocolate chips

Then layer marscapone whip

Then dust more cacao zuccherato

Switch biscuit direction for next layer and repeat.

Then let it chill in the fridge overnight. We can guarantee it is so good! And much easier to make than we would have thought. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Stuck in an Elevator

I cannot make this stuff up. Yesterday, I got stuck in our apartment elevator with Eva and Olivia. 😳

We were headed out to meet Eva’s friend Chiara when right around the 1st floor (we live on the 6th) the elevator made a big th-thunk noise as it shook and came to a stop. None of the elevator buttons would work. We were stuck.

And all I could do was laugh. 🤷‍♀️😆 What are the chances?? Apparently 1 in 100,000. So of course because we don’t have enough rare experiences in our life it was time for a new one.

With Dave out on a trip to the store my first call was to my Mom, who was still at the apartment with my Dad and Keira. She heard the “th-thunk” and the first thing she said was “Tell me you’re not stuck in the elevator.” After confirming we were indeed stuck in the elevator and asking her to call someone, my Dad flew down the stairs, made sure we were ok and got the front desk concierge. And Dave arrived from the store.

Meanwhile, I tried speaking via google translate to the Italian man that answered the elevator alarm call. I wasn’t sure if he understood me or not but he hung up.

Only a few minutes later Eva said she was bored. 😆 I was just thankful we made her use the restroom before we left and that Livvy wasn’t going to need meds anytime soon. In case we were stuck for a while we also had water with us and a few candy snacks we brought along for her and her friend.

Livvy didn’t understand what was going on so she was fine until she got tired of sitting in her stroller. So Eva and I started singing songs, like Itsy Bitsy Spider and Little Green Frog, to keep her smiling.

After some complaints from Eva, we heard a noise and saw light shine through a crack in the door. Someone was here to free us from the elevator!

After a few minutes they opened the door. We were indeed between floors. Because the opening on the bottom was bigger than the opening on the top we were going to have to get out that way.

I had told Eva she would get out first but she said “No! Livvy needs to go first because she is special and we need to take care of her.” 🥰 I reassured her they were both special and equally as important but because she was closest to the door it was ok for her to get out first.

At dinner last night Eva said “When will we get stuck in an elevator again? That was fun!” 😆🤦‍♀️

Yet again, another unexpected event happening in our lives. It doesn’t even surprise me at this point. Just another day of rolling with the punches with a smile on our faces!

A Little Bit About Eva

Most of the blog has been about our youngest girls, Olivia and Keira, as they are undoubtedly going through the most these days. But I would be remiss to not share more about our oldest daughter, Eva.

With all that our family is going through she is handling it incredibly well. While she may not understand everything yet, what she does know she processes, asks her questions, and moves right along; always rolling with the punches.

She is truly coming into her own as a big sister; talking with Livvy to cheer her up when she cries, including her in her activities, and being silly to make Keira laugh every chance she gets. She makes them both pictures with their names on them + “I ❤ U” and is already planning what she wants to get them for Christmas.

While school is different for everyone due to Coronavirus, it is a little more so for Eva. Her school has been absolutely amazing and so supportive as we navigate through these uncharted waters together. But because Milan is 8 hours ahead of Phoenix, Eva only gets to partake in her online Zoom session with the other kids at 4:15pm then it’s time for dinner. Because of that, we work on activities with her throughout the day and she has started taking Italian lessons twice a week (also on Zoom).

When she is not doing school projects she is always inventing and creating things of her own; zip lines for her stuffed animals, sleds out of Amazon boxes, jewelry for her sisters and decorations for the holidays. But her new favorite activity is riding her bike – on two wheels only! (Thanks to lessons from the self-proclaimed best teacher ever, Dad, and to Laura & Silvio who lent us this bike to use for her while we are here) “I’m so glad I got to learn to ride my bike in Italy before going back home to Arizona!” she said the other day.

She is growing in so many ways and we couldn’t be more proud of her! ❤

Day 40 in Isolation

It is the 40th day Keira has been in isolation and in just a few short days she and Dave may be coming back home! 🤗

I am SO happy to share that she has only had one blood transfusion in the past week, her platelets seem to have engrafted as those levels are spiking, and her neutrophils are on their way up! The results from her first bone marrow aspirate following her gene therapy also appear to be in line with the results of other successful patients so we are beyond happy with that!

The doctors said we could expect to be discharged by the end of this week or beginning of next. This is how excited Dave and Keira are (and us too)! ❤

Halloween in Milan

Halloween for everyone was a little different than normal this year, but it was especially so for our family.

While kids do dress up here in Italy, there isn’t trick-or-treating or big parties like how people celebrate in America. And finding a pumpkin? Forget it. We did manage to find two at completely different stores though, one of which cost 27 Euros. 😳 Definitely the most we have ever paid for a pumpkin but worth it to make this seem as close to the normal holiday as possible for our girls.

Last Halloween, Eva had already decided on our group costume for this year: pirates! ☠ So we got everything ordered once we got to Italy. The 5 of us were pirates, my Mom was a pirate’s parrot and my Dad was Captain Hook’s croc.

To replace the absence of trick-or-treating we had to get creative. So I made a treasure map that would direct Eva to various X marks the spots around the apartment where she would find buried pirate treasure.

Livvy can’t participate too much but we carried her around for as long as she could go. She also hates getting changed (she has lost most of her arm control the past few months) so getting her in and out of a costume is a challenge and she did not want to be in it for very long since it was a hotter fabric. But we made sure she still got some smiles in, and enjoyed a little chocolate candy too.

Dave and Keira also got dressed up at the hospital, and the nurses and doctors loved it!

After the treasure hunt was over, Eva declared it the best Halloween ever! 🤗 And now, she is already working on our costume ideas for next year.

Happy Halloween from all of us to all of you! Hope it was a safe and happy one for everyone! 🎃💜☠

Day 32 in Isolation

Dave has officially settled in at the hospital and Keira is as happy as can be! She hasn’t needed a transfusion (for hemoglobin or platelets) in five days, which is amazing, and she is well on her way to a quick recovery – albeit with 50% less hair. We are so relieved she is doing well and back to eating and drinking on her own. Her weight has also stayed steady, at around 10.6 kg, this whole time, which was something I was concerned about when we started this process.

Today, the doctors said if her neutrophils rise as they should she may even get to come home next week! Yay!

Meanwhile, on the home front, we have had a busy few days with Eva and Livvy and I have loved it!

We ate lunch outside at one of our favorite restaurants, made origami hearts and Halloween decorations with Eva, played dress up with Livvy, went for a walk to see all the fall leaves and horses that live next door, completed a puzzle with Eva, walked down the street to wave at Dad and Keira in the hospital room, played at the playground, and danced in the rain!

Switching Out

I may have mentioned that when we first planned on Keira’s stay in the isolation room for 40+ days that Dave and I planned to switch out each week. Well, thanks to COVID-19, this was one of many things that had to change.

Thus, my staying for the first 4 weeks until Keira was past the mucositis phase, when her immune system would be at its weakest. Now that she is past that, recovering well and Dave passed his COVID test, we were able to switch.

Being outside, walking around without a time limit, felt so weird and so wonderful at the same time. That smile under mask didn’t fade the whole walk home, thinking about seeing my girls.

While I am having trouble even wrapping my brain around not seeing Keira in person for the next few weeks, I am beyond excited to be with Eva and Livvy, who I have missed SO much! Giving them hugs in person literally brought tears to my eyes today.

And I know Dave was so happy to see Keira. And vice versa, once she realized the masked man with the longer locks was her Dad. 😆

Never when we first heard the words Metachromatic Leukodystrophy would we have imagined our lives would lead us here. But we are so grateful it has. This journey has not been easy and we know the road ahead won’t be either. But these gorgeous faces make it all ok, and we will always do everything we can to keep them smiling.

Here’s to hoping these next few weeks fly by! We miss Dave and Keira already!

Mom Needs a Nap

Keira and I have been in the hospital for 20 days now.

Originally, the plan was for Dave and I to switch each week or two. However, because of COVID-19 concerns and him flying to Amsterdam each week with Livvy, they wanted me to stay until Keira was past her mucositis phase, when her immune system would be at its lowest. Fair enough.

The sleep (or lack there of) schedule has been rough. And as mucositis kicked in Friday night (Oct 9th) even more so.

As all the side effects began she needed more medicines to keep her out of pain and more snuggles with Mom. While some nights she was able to sleep well (thanks Morphine), I, however, had to get up with every beep of the machines, which meant one medicine was done and it was time for the next. Time to get up, pause the noise on the machine and hit the nurses button. This happens hourly throughout the night.

Usually by the time they take her daily blood draw at 6am she can go back down until 9am so that gives me a good 3-hour block of time to sleep more and sometimes hurry up and shower while she sleeps.

Needless to say, Mom needs a nap. Or a spa day. Or both.

Once the mucositis started on Friday, so did the hair loss. But only a couple hairs at a time. Now it’s becoming a little more but nothing extremely noticeable when you look at her.

Two days later, on the 11th, she needed a blood transfusion because her hemoglobin levels were low, on the evening of the 12th she needed a platelet transfusion, on the 13th she got a immunoglobin infusion, on the 14th, she needed another blood transfusion and today, the 15th, she needs another platelet transfusion.

This is all normal and par for the course at this stage in the game. They also took an xray for pneumonia (which came back negative) and did an ultrasound of her liver (which looked great).

And I was beyond happy to see her acting more like her normal self for the first time yesterday. Smiling away and even playing! 🤗❤ It made our day and so far she is feeling good today as well.

Can’t wait to see our strong girl push through this phase and be on the road to recovery and a normal life without all the struggles and pain that comes with MLD. Truly a blessing and a miracle!