By: Carol Schreiber
Murray County News Staffwriter
“Fifteen minutes at a time, that’s how we do it sometimes,” Meg Spartz said. “We just get through it.” Baby Jeff Spartz, the four-month-old son of Meg and Chad, was diagnosed with ALL, a form of Leukemia, in February.
“His treatment schedule is one month at a time, and then we have a week off,” Meg explained. Jeff and Meg had been staying at the Sanford Children’s Hospital in Sioux Falls while Jeff was undergoing his first round of chemotherapy. They came home to Brewster last week to be surrounded by their family and familiar surroundings for a few days before returning to Sioux Falls on Wednesday, March 28.
Meg and Chad took some time to visit at their home in Brewster last week, before their return to Sioux Falls for round two of chemotherapy. Baby Jeff was enjoying the day, cooing and enjoying his bottle of milk. He seemed to have enjoyed his time at home, along with spending time with his siblings, Claire (11), James (10), John (7), Caroline (4), and Jared (1 1/2).
“Jeff’s (immunity level) numbers were high enough that they said we could come home,” Meg explained. “We go back Wednesday for a bone marrow check.” Under a microscope, doctors can see approximately what percentage of leukemia cells there are, and then the sample will be sent to Seattle where they can determine more precisely how many cells (for example, one out of 1,000 or 50 out of 10,000) are leukemia cells. Round two of chemotherapy will then begin.
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