about CaringBridge  |  home page  |  view guestbook  |  view photos  |  read journal history  |  make a tribute donation
 
 

Briana Glacken 10/15/91~7/28/01




God saw you getting tired,
And a cure was not to be.
So he put his arms around you,
And whispered, "Come to me."

With tearful eyes we watched you,
And saw you pass away.
Although we loved you dearly,
We could not make you stay.

A golden heart stopped beating,
Hard working hands at rest.
God broke our hearts to prove to us,
He only takes the best.

~Forever In My Heart~

Journal

October 4,2005

Briana was diagnosed with High Risk T-Cell Leukemia on May 5, 1999 at the age of 7. She was admitted to CHOP that very day with a white count of 107,000 (blasts), a mass in her chest, low grade fever, and very low blood counts. She was started on chemo the following day. Briana was considered a slow responder to treatment and had to do 10 days of cranial radiation. However she did go into remission within the first month. The first year of her treatment was very intense and required numerous doctor visits and hospital stays. In October 1999, we decided to have a port-a-cath placed...it made it much easier for her to get her meds. Although her treatment was intense.....we managed to get through it the first year. In September of 2000 Briana was diagnosed with Avascular Necrosis....caused by the steriods she had to take...her knees and ankles were affected by this and caused her a great deal of pain. She had difficulty walking....especially going up and down steps....and trouble keeping up with kids her age....The pain in her legs seemed to worsen and I became fearful of relapse. In February 2001, x-rays showed her AVN had progressed. She was put on anti-inflammatory meds and pain medication. On March 9,2001, Briana went in to get her monthly dose of vincristine (1 of her many chemos)and have her counts checked. Her CBC showed blast (cancer cells)and we were told she had relapsed. She was started on the CHOP 540 protocol.....a protocol in which CHOP uses for kids who relapse. Our goal was to get her back in remission and find a donor since she would need a Bone Marrow Transplant. The doctors tried unsuccessfully to get Briana back into remission. Her little body went through so much between March and July. She had to have many spinal taps with intrathecal chemos and bone marrow aspirates. We tried an experimantal drug called ara-g, which didn't work. On June 4th she was started on a very high dose of methotrexate. It made her so sick. On July 5th, the doctors did a bone marrow aspirate and there were no blasts in her marrow. We were told she was in remission. However, on July 11th, an abdominal CAT scan showed that her leukemia had hid in her lymphnodes and had formed "solid like tumors" throughout her abdomen. After being told there was no chance for a cure I made the decision to bring Briana home from the hospital. We came home on July 13th. Briana passed away peacefully in my arms on July 28, 2001 at the age of 9. I will always remember the last hug she gave me and the last time she told me she loved me.
A part of me died that day with her. It hurts so much not to have her here with me anymore.

I MISS YOU SO MUCH PRINCESS!!!!!

Read Journal History


Sign and view the guestbook
Sign and View Guestbook

View personal photos

View Photos

Hospital Information:

Safely Home In Heaven



Links:

http://www.angelfire.com/stars2/angelize56/ppmem2002/mempg2.html   Childhood Cancer awareness
http://www.squirreltales.com   Childhood Cancer Encouragement
http://www.heavenlylights.homestead.com   Briana's Star page 4


 
 

E-mail Author: Shannangal@comcast.net

 
 

  Celebrate someone you love with a Tribute Gift to CaringBridge

Your gift will help millions of people stay connected with friends and loved ones during challenging times.


 

This page has been viewed 99477 times.

 

Note: The foregoing information was authored by the patient, parent or guardian, or other parties who are solely responsible for the content. Such announcements or their content are not necessarily endorsed by CaringBridge, Inc. or any sponsoring agent.  This information does not confirm that anyone is or was actually a patient at any facility.
 
 
Copyright Policy  |  Privacy Policy  |  Terms of Use  |  Donate |  How to Help |  Contact Us  |  FAQs
Copyright © 1997-2005 CaringBridge, a nonprofit organization. All rights reserved.
 
Visit the Onvoy website