Caitlin's Strength

My battle to go from non-runner to marathon runner may be over, but Caitlin's battle continues.

As I'd posted before the race, Caitlin relapsed over the summer. She had a successful stem cell transplant at the end of September.

Unfortunately, the chemotherapy Caitlin endured before her stem cell transplant caused her to develop Hepatic Veno-occlusive Disease (VOD), leading her liver and kidneys to go into failure.

Last Saturday, I visited home, and went to the hospital to visit Caitlin in the PICU. She was in critical but stable condition, on life support and dialysis. I know that Caitlin is a fighter, but seeing her in that state was one of the toughest moments of my life. The first time I tried to talk to her, I couldn't get the words to come out, only tears.

I spent the afternoon at the hospital, with Caitlin, her mom, and my mom. Her mom filled me in on a lot of details from the past few months. Talking with Caitlin got easier once I'd been there for a little while. She won't remember any of it, but I was glad to just be by her side and talk to her for a while.

Caitlin is on an experimental medication, sent over from Italy, to treat the VOD. This week, her condition began to improve, but she started to suffer from withdrawal when they tried to taper her drugs in preparation for removing her breathing tube. She also may have graft versus host disease, which is when the new stem cells don't recognize the host and begin attacking. So while Caitlin's overall condition may be improving, the situation is still serious, and she still has a long way to go.

Caitlin is one of the strongest people I have ever met. I have faith that she'll get through this, though it can't happen soon enough!

If there was any doubt in my mind about doing another event with Team In Training, it disappeared once I saw Caitlin. Every dollar raised is a dollar closer to finding a cure. Caitlin has been fighting this for nearly 10 months -- as far as I'm concerned, that's 10 months too long.

So for all of my friends and family who made a donation, thank you. You are making a difference in the lives of some very amazing people. And if you didn't get a chance to make a donation, don't worry -- there will be a next time. For Caitlin. For saving lives.