Somewhere in the world is a bone marrow donor who has saved the life of Estevan’s Payton Sernick.
Payton, the daughter of Andrea and Cheyenne Sernick, has been fighting cancer since the fall of 2014, when she was diagnosed with Stage 4 acute lymphoblastic leukemia and lymphoma. After being declared cancer-free, the cancer returned late last year.
She underwent a bone marrow transplant at the Alberta Children’s Hospital June 7 and recently celebrated the 100-day milestone for the transplant.
Stage 4 acute lymphoblastic leukemia and lymphoma.
Her mom says Payton is feeling great.
“The 100 days, they use as a staple to start gauging for whether the transplant is taking well, and to see her cellular activity,” said Andrea. “So Day 100 is a big step. Day 200 is another big step.”
Payton went through engraftment so the cells from her bone marrow donor could be welcomed into her body. She received 13 million cells through the bone marrow transplant, and according to Andrea, it seems like those 13 million cells “have made friends” with Payton’s other cells, and been able to take over and give her body a new life.
“Her T cells and her M cells have both been tested to be 100 per cent donor cells. Our bone marrow transplant team came in with a beaming smile, and it was just so wonderful to hear her doctor, Dr. (Greg) Guilcher out of Calgary … come in and just say ‘Congratulations, kiddo.’”
Guilcher was beaming when he told the Sernick family on the 100-day milestone that the transplant was progressing well.
“I feel that you can see a smile through people’s eyes, and he and Payton’s outpatient nurse definitely had that on Friday, September 14, when we walked into their office,” said Andrea.
But that’s not to say there weren’t ups and downs during the 100 days. In the first 24 days, she was very ill.
“It was really quite a sigh of relief to know that some of the cells started working,” said Andrea.
There were meetings when they were told how it would work, and what to expect, but there were still those tough times.
At the end of the 100-day cycle, they did a 100-day Facebook post that has been viewed about 25,000 times. Andrea believes that video shows the genuine love and happiness that Payton and her brother Beckham have for each other.
Now that they’re moving towards Day No. 200, they continue to monitor the transplanted bone marrow to make sure it is progressing in a positive fashion.
“We’re just starting to be able to go into smaller public areas in non-busy times,” said Andrea. “It’s not officially isolation, but we’re just very cautious of where she is right now, because her immune system is very low, and she has no vaccinations against anything. Those were simply taken away during the transplant process.”
The family spends lots of time playing board games and cards, or watching movies. They go for walks and bicycle rides. Payton is taking classes remotely through Facetime, and has a tutor in Calgary. Beckham is going to school in Calgary for the time being.
For the first three months after the transplant, she was in the Hospital at Home program, but now she is now staying at a home in Calgary with her family, and returns to the clinic for the check-ups.
The Day 200 milestone will take them beyond the six-month mark since the transplant, and would fall on Christmas Eve.
After that milestone, Payton will be allowed to go into public and possibly even start back in school and enjoy other activities.
“Both of our kids are excited to move back to Estevan and that time, and can continue on and get back to life again,” said Andrea.
The goal is to be back in Estevan at the end of December or early January.
The transplant is considered a big success at the two-year mark, and so the Sernick family is going to have a big celebration in June 2020.
The care that the family has received since moving to the Albert Children’s Hospital in Calgary has been incredible, Andrea said. The bone marrow transplant team, the nurses and the psychologists work together and are on top of things.
In July, one of Payton’s oncology nurses from Regina joined the team in Calgary, which was exciting.
“I am so comfortable when I walk through that hospital, just knowing that she will have every little bit of care that day, and not one little thing will be overlooked,” said Andrea.
The nurses have been caring and comforting, and provide lots of love and attention. It’s been needed, Andrea said, and they have been an incredible support.
The cancer treatments and the bone marrow transplant have kept her from being involved extensively with the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation of Saskatchewan. Payton is their provincial ambassador for the Champion’s Program for this year. Payton found out she had earned the distinction before she was diagnosed with cancer for a second time.
The Sernicks still have Facetime calls with the children’s hospital, and promote the hospital at every opportunity. Payton remains excited to be the champion child, even though the family currently isn’t in Saskatchewan.
Payton recently participated in a photo shoot to mark the one-year mark before the hospital is completed.
They hope to be at a radiothon fundraiser in Regina in November.
“The radiothons are successful, but they’re successful mostly because of the children that are able to be there to talk about their stories, and to let people know that the children’s hospital is very, very important to our province,” said Andrea.
The people in the Estevan area have remained supportive as well. Andrea said she knows other children and families don’t receive the same type of support, with phone calls, prayer chains and other forms of support that have gone beyond the financial.
“It’s a spiritual, happy, truly heartwarming welcome that we get,” said Andrea. “I get honest questions and comments of ‘I wish your family the best.’ ‘I hope your son and daughter are doing well.’ ‘I hope they’ve adjusted to their new school setting.’”
She has great neighbours as well, and they are anxious for when they will finally get to return home.
