Baby recovers from bone marrow transplant

Adam Shoop celebrated his first birthday earlier this month in a hospital room while undergoing chemotherapy. Four days later, he received a bone marrow transplant from his 2-year-old sister.

In the last five months, little Adam has been diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia, endured four rounds of chemotherapy treatment, received a bone marrow transplant, and has twice been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland — where he remains today.

Adam first arrived at Doernbecher in February, after what his family and pediatrician thought was a cold turned out to be leukemia. Adam was 8 months old.

Shortly after he arrived at Doernbecher, Adam underwent a 10-day treatment of chemotherapy, followed by two additional rounds.

In May, Adam’s sister Ryanne, 2, and brother Nolan, 5, were tested as possible bone marrow donors. Nolan was a partial match; Ryanne was a perfect match, their mother Devin Shoop said.

At the beginning of July, Adam underwent his fourth round of chemo — eight days of “very, very harsh” treatment, the child’s mother reported. He had a day to rest after the treatment, and then underwent the bone marrow transplant July 10.

Shortly after the transplant, Adam’s doctors admitted him to the ICU. The pre-transplant chemotherapy session had irritated the lining of Adam’s gastrointestinal tract — a condition called mucositis — and made breathing difficult. After five days of monitoring Adam’s breathing in the ICU, doctors allowed him to return to his room.

“This time has been the hardest,” his mom said in a phone interview Thursday evening. “His three other chemotherapies were, compared to this, very easy.”

Adam is fed through a tube because the mucositis has left his mouth and throat covered with sores. He also has an oxygen tube running below his nose to make breathing easier, Devin Shoop said. Lately, Adam’s body has been retaining fluid, and he spends most of the day sleeping, his mom said.

“He has to get over this hump of healing from mucositis and making sure his body is acting normal,” his mother said.

Saturday afternoon, though, Adam stopped breathing. Doctors readmitted him to the ICU and intubated him, and his breathing has since improved, Adam’s grandmother Diane Shoop wrote in an e-mail Sunday. Adam is in critical but stable condition, and doctors are watching his liver and other areas of his body that are retaining fluid, she said.

“You have to keep believing that things are gonna get better, that he’s gonna get through this,” Diane Shoop said in a phone interview Friday. “The doctors said there will be low times, and this is one of those low times.”

Doctors are waiting for Adam’s red blood cell counts to climb back to the normal range and for his other symptoms to disappear before he can be released from the hospital, Devin Shoop said. Meanwhile, Adam’s mom stays with him at the hospital, while his dad, Joel, drives back and forth from their Roseburg home to Portland. Adam’s brother and sister stay with their grandparents and make occasional trips to Doernbecher to visit.

Once Adam is released, the family will move into a furnished house in Portland where they will stay for two and a half to three months while Adam completes his recovery, Devin Shoop said.

In the meantime, Diane Shoop and the rest of the family will continue to wait for Adam to return to his happy, playful self.

“I just want it to all go away and it be better,” Diane Shoop said. “But it’s one of those things, it’s out of our hands.”

• You can reach reporter Marissa Harshman at 957-4202 or by e-mail at mharshman@nrtoday.com.



How to help...

Donations to Adam Shoop and his family can be made in his name at any U.S. Bank. The family does have health insurance, but the rising cost of gasoline and frequent trips to and from Portland have financially strained the family.

So you know... The Douglas County Friends of Doernbecher committee is holding its 12th annual fundraiser for the children’s hospital in Portland. The proceeds of the event will benefit the hospital, which cares for Douglas County children like Adam Shoop and patients like him from around the state. Last year’s event raised $96,000, and about 350 people attended, according to committee member Martha Zenor. The money raised is used to help Douglas County families defray the costs of food and travel, and to help Doernbecher purchase needed equipment, she said. This year’s fundraiser includes the following events: WHAT: “An Evening of Wine & Roses” dinner, dancing and auction WHEN: 6 p.m. Aug. 15 WHERE: Seven Feathers Hotel & Casino Resort, Canyonville COST: Tickets are $50 per person and are available at the Seven Feathers Box Office, WorkMates Copy Center and Macy’s Ticket Office ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Live music by No Limit. Auction includes pearl set, sports vacation for two, Saks Fifth Avenue Chicago shopping spree, guided fly fishing trip for two and a diamond pendant, among other items. 673-5506. WHAT: 12th Annual Doernbecher Golf Classic with bad pants contest WHEN: Tee time at 9 a.m. Aug. 16 WHERE: Myrtle Creek Golf Course COST: $500 per team. Entry deadline Aug. 4. Entry fee includes one ticket for each team member for Aug. 15 dinner, green fees, two carts, lunch and tee prize. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Individual and team bad pants contest. Golfer’s raffle. $10,000 hole-in-one prize. Call or e-mail for more information or to register. Myrtle Creek Golf Course, 863-4653, Gregg Hervey, 672-9405 or ghervey@cowcreek.com.