Andrew turned 11 years old 3/17/06. He has three younger sisters who all look up to their older brother. Andrew liked to play basketball, soccer, piano and trombone, card games, computer & video games. He was a kind and gentle soul and a caring helper and blessing to his grandmas and grandpas and aunts and uncles. Andrew was in 6th grade at Nate Perry Elementary and an active member at Cross of Christ Lutheran Church. Andrew was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) on 4/14/06. He completed three rounds of chemotherapy at University Hospital in Syracuse, and underwent a bone marrow transplant on 8/3/06 at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, NY. Sister Holly is a matched donor. Andrew spent 5 weeks in Strong, stayed 2 weeks in the Rochester area, and we returned home to live on 9/8/06. His blood counts rebounded nicely, and day +30 bone marrow results showed no leukemia and 100% donor cells. On 10/2/06 blood work showed possible leukemic cells. On 10/4/06, additional blood work, and a bone marrow aspiration and biopsy confirmed that the leukemia has relapsed, with 40% blast cells in the marrow. Andrew completed another round of chemotherapy only to relapse once again. He also suffered appendicitis and an appendectomy. A second round of chemotherapy was administered. His counts did not rebound at all, kind of forcing a second bone marrow transplant in early December. This time, Andrew's dad was the donor - the first haploidentical (half-match) transplant at Strong. Andrew was discharged on new Year's Eve 2006, and returned home to live on 1/8/07. His +30 day marrow check showed the cancer in remission, all donor cells and no evidence of leukemia. About +50 days nondonor cells were identified and a few days later his cancer had relapsed once again. He suffered from pulmonary hypertension, and over about a week, and the level of oxygen to the brain and body was not sufficient to sustain life, passing away on 2/17/07. His cancer would not be cured and his body could not handle any more treatment. Andrew's faith, love, strength and braveness continue to be a model for us all.
