March 9, 2025
Day 37
It’s Mosaic Trisomy 8 Day! The heart of all things medical for Tate. Tatum doesn’t have the syndrome version (which is rare,) but instead has the autoimmune/autoinflammatory version(which is rarer with only 22 kids in a study through the NIH) Tates version truly is one of a kind as there is nobody else quite like her-without the syndrome but also with the large combination of co morbidities. MT8 is a chromosomal defect where cells have 3 copies of chromosome 8 instead of 2. You can be born with it or acquire it. It caused Tates bone marrow cancer and was the switch for her many autoimmune/inflammatory and genetic conditions. It continues to cause systemic inflammation, brain inflammation and progressive pain among others. It’s been a beast. But Tate is strong and fights back everyday.
I included a few photo memories today. They give some perspective as to the frequency of admissions especially over the last 4 years. But also how many battles Tate has already won.
The helipad is outside our room. Some days are quiet, but today was non stop. Lots of opportunities to pray for those kids and families. There’s never a shortage here.