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At 41 years young, Debi Moretta's life was similar to many other women her age. She was happily married for 16 years to her husband Nick, had two children; John 15 and Kristina 12, and was a typical mini-van driving, stay-at-home mom who played taxi driver to her children. She took them to hockey and cheerleading practices, cooked the family dinners and loved to crochet and make crafts with her friends. Like so many other middle-aged women, Debi decided to go back to school and earn a degree. In December of 2001, she finished college and earned her paralegal certificate; a feat she and her family were very proud of. Alarmingly, just as everything seemed to be going along as planned, her life took a turn that nobody could have foreseen. In February of 2002, Debi started feeling sick. She had a fever that would not go away, and felt dizzy & weak. Initially, the doctors did not really know what was wrong with her. She kept going back to the doctor's office because she knew something was not right. Finally, they admitted her to the hospital. After running numerous tests and a two-day stay, a doctor came into her room with news that would change her life forever. With her sister and husband in the room, the doctor delivered some shocking news. He told Debi that she had Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). Although Debi was terrified at first, the doctor reassured her it was between 70 and 100% curable, and she would be just fine after chemotherapy and a possible bone marrow transplant. Debi was not only concerned about going through the chemotherapy process, losing her hair, feeling sick, etc., her real worry centered around the fact that she could get an infection in the process because her suppressed immune system. Within only two days after getting the diagnosis, a pick line was installed in her right arm and the chemotherapy treatments began. The treatments ran twenty-four hours a day for the following seven days. Though scared, Debi kept a fantastic attitude through the entire process and even kept a daily journal of her experience. She took the treatments very well, hardly feeling sick at all and did everything the doctors instructed her to do, drinking plenty of water and taking daily walks throughout the halls. With her mother, father, two sisters, husband and children by her side daily, she kept them strong by being so positive. She was still playing the role of oldest sister and mother to everyone else, making sure the family was emotionally together. The following is what she wrote in her journal regarding her ordeal: "March 1, 02- Well Happy Anniversary! I started chemo last night about 5:00. I was really afraid because I didn't know how I would take it. Thank God, no reactions! So far. I feel about the same. In fact, I feel better now than when I was at home sick. My fever is finally down to the 97's and that helps. I'm being vigilant with drinking water and rinsing my mouth to help ward off any problems. My attitude is I'm fighting a war. I'm using any ammunition I can against this enemy. I will win! Nick and the kids worry me though. I know they feel helpless but they do more than they know. Just being able to talk to them about everyday things helps. It's a glimmer of normal life instead of this surreal life I'm living, that I'm floating through. I guess the water and rinsing thing gives me some control back in that sense. One Step Closer! That's my motto. I'm closer today to being cured than I was yesterday."She had her daughter make her a sign to put up on the wall, which read "ONE STEP CLOSER". Debi said “every time they stick me with a needle and every pill they have me take, gets me one-step-closer to being cured”. Her attitude could not have been better! Debi knew that she’d need a bone marrow transplant after the completion of the chemotherapy so both her sisters and a few very close friends were immediately tested as possible donors. She was very concerned however that she would not get a donor because the odds of either sibling being a perfect match were between 25 and 33%. The results would not come back for three weeks. Somewhere around the middle of her chemotherapy treatment, on about March 3, Debi said she was lying on her left side very early in the morning when she suddenly felt two people sit on her bed, one on each side of her. She opened her eyes expecting to see the person on the left side, but no one was there. She then glanced over her right shoulder to look at the person on the right side, but again, no one was there. Debi said she felt great peace with that and told her visitors that she felt their presence with her. Later that day she told her mother about what had happened. Her mom began to cry when she heard the news and told Debi that she had be praying the night before and asked Debi's two deceased grandmothers to go to the hospital and take care of her. Debi felt very good about this, but Nick on the other hand was very uneasy about what was going on. He could remember asking Debi why these visitors would feel the need to let her know they were there. Debi wrote the following in her journal on March 8: "The last bag (7th) of chemo finished yesterday at 5:00. Right now I'm not hooked up to anything. That feels really good. I don't know how long that will last though. I got a copy of my labs this a.m. and my WBC went from 400 to 700. It's supposed to go the other way. This may mean I'll have to have another round of chemo. I'm pretty down about that this morning. I haven't talked to the doctor yet today though. I'm just preparing myself for that news. I was hoping we could get everything the first round! I guess this invader is going to be tough; I'll just have to be tougher!"On the night of March 8th (Friday), Debi was feeling great and Nick left her around 9:00 P.M. to head home. He called her around 7:00 A.M. the next morning, March 9th (Saturday), and she told him that after he left, she began to feel ill and just wanted to rest all day. Debi's mother sat at her bedside most of the day and left around 7:00 P.M. Nick had called her several times throughout the course of the day asking if she was feeling any better so the kids and he could drop by, but she said she just needed to rest. Around 9:00 P.M. he called one last time to say good night and even though she answered the phone, several times during their conversation she sounded as though she were drunk. He asked her to call the nurse so that he could find out just what was going on. Her nurse that night told him that she had a fever, which he was cooling with ice packs under her arms and that was the reason she sounded lethargic. Nick asked him if he thought that he needed to be there, but he assured Nick that there was no need for that and that she'd be fine. Nick figured it was the effect of the chemo finally kicking in and that she'd probably feel much better in the morning. Nobody had foreseen what was about to happen. The next morning March 10th (Sunday), Nick called Debi's room around 7:00 A.M. as he always did but this time there was no answer. He then called the nurses station and asked if his wife were in her room because she did not answer the phone. They told him as far as they knew she was, but told him to call back in around 30 minutes because of their shift change. He then called back to her room a couple more times when finally a nurse answered the phone. She told Nick that Debi was not responding and appeared to be in a coma. He was then given a doctor to talk with, but the doctor sounded rather dumbfounded with what was going on and said that he would need to start running some tests. Nick told him that he would be there as soon as possible and hung up. Nick then called Debi's parents to let them know what was going on and then he and the kids jumped in the car to head for the hospital. The hospital was about 35 miles from where they lived yet none of them said a single word the entire trip. Nick remembers thinking: "How did they not know that my wife had lapsed into a coma during the night? How was that possible?" Her family rushed to the hospital, in shock because of what was happening. After seeing her like this, everyone huddled together in the waiting room hysterically crying and trying to grasp what was happening. The family asked themselves, "Was this really happening, or is this just a nightmare we will eventually wake up from? How could this be happening to someone who has such a great attitude, and was just fine the day before?" The doctors had never warned Debi or the family of any possible neurological risks involved with her procedure and they had no real explanation as to why this had happened. The family was told that she might have had everything from an infection, to meningitis, to a stroke and even bleeding on the brain. Yet, there were no concrete answers and no prognosis at the time. The very next day, Father John Moretta came to visit Debi and administered the last rites. On March 14th (Thursday), the doctors told her mother and husband that it looked as though the chemotherapy had destroyed Debi’s brain and that she would probably not survive. They were then told to consider the possibility of "pulling the plug". The entire family, still in shock, had to make the most difficult decision of their lives, so they planned to meet that night to discuss their options. Nick then left the hospital and headed for home to get some well-deserved rest before the meeting. On his way home he said he did a lot of thinking and remembered Debi telling him about a tape that she had made during a visit with a psychic in 1997. She said the psychic had told her that her life would change at 42. When he finally arrived home, he decided to listen to the tape just to hear Debi's voice once again. Sure enough, the psychic said, "Your life will change at 42, but it will be alright." It was just five short days from Debi's 42nd birthday. Nobody could fathom the thought of giving up on Debi...she was a fighter, and if she didn't give up, then why should they? That night they made the decision to get another opinion, and to have Debi transferred to The City of Hope, since that’s where her bone marrow transplant was originally scheduled to take place. Our insurance company however denied the transfer, claiming that they had City of Hope doctors on staff at their Sunset Hospital in Hollywood. The family was told that Debi would receive the same care there that she would at The City of Hope. Feeling as though this was Debi’s only chance for survival, the family agreed and Debi was transferred to Hollywood, CA on Friday, March 15th 2002. When Debi arrived in Hollywood she was in bad shape. Her white blood count was nearly zero from the affects of the chemotherapy; she developed a fungal infection, pneumonia and was septic. It took Nick approximately two hours to get to the hospital from their home in Victorville; however he and the family made sure somebody was there for her every day while she lay in a coma in the ICU. As a result of the chemotherapy, Debi’s hair also began falling out around this time. For her 42nd birthday, the nurses and family gathered around her bed and sang Happy Birthday to her. Although it wasn't a happy birthday, everyone was thankful she was still alive. A couple weeks passed, and the doctors did not think she would live because of the infections. One day the doctor told her sisters and mother that she probably wouldn't make it because, "Those infections are hard for a healthy person to beat, much less someone as sick as Debi." The family continued to sit by her bedside and talk to her. Nick and her mom were there everyday. They made sure Debi was treated well, and was not alone. Each day the family gathered around Debi's bed to let her know how much they all loved her, and that she was not going through this nightmare alone. They'd also play her music and recordings that her children would make each night before going to sleep to keep her in touch with their young lives. During this time Nick was using up the last of his vacation days, and was very worried about what might become of Debi when he had to return to work. Debi's sisters, as well as her father were working, which only left her mother and Nick able to visit during the week. Nick knew the drive to Los Angeles was way too far for her mom to do on her own, so he prayed that Debi would recover enough to at least be able to communicate her needs to the nurses. Nick's supervisor, at Southern California Edison, told him they were looking into a way of getting him more time off. He adopted a letter, which was sent out to every employee explaining the situation and asking for vacation donations. The results were staggering! They had collected almost six months of paid vacation for Nick! Amidst all the bad, this was like a gift from God! Still hanging on, Debi's eyes started opening after about a month. She responded to very little stimulus, however the family all knew that Debi was still in there, fighting to stay alive and win this war. She stayed in the ICU for about six weeks, managing to fight off all of her infections and eventually her white blood count returned to the normal levels. Her leukemia seemed to be in remission and it was also discovered that both of her sisters were perfect bone marrow donors. It seemed as though Debi was destined to be cured from this terrible disease, but ironically, the disease itself wasn't her main enemy. The family was about to hear possibly their worst news yet. After running numerous tests, the doctors held a meeting with the family and were told that Debi was PVS, (persistent vegetative state). They said her brain injury was severe and they had never seen a case like hers (they said it was a "landmark case"). They did not give her much hope at ever being able to do much of anything by herself. They said she would probably never be able to walk, eat, or move on her own. She also wouldn't be able to communicate or be cognitive of her surroundings. Even with the fact that she found perfect bone marrow matches, Debi could not go forward with a transplant given her current mental condition. The family never believed that, however, and they were still not going to give up hope that Debi would progress and be cured. They wanted her to be in a brain injury rehabilitation program. Having to be very persistent, Nick fought to get her admitted to Casa Colina Rehabilitation Hospital in Pomona. While at Casa Colina, Debi started responding by looking at who was talking, and by slightly moving her legs and hands when she was asked. Sometimes her family would tell her something and her facial expressions indicated that she was still in there (she just couldn't get her brain to move her body). She had to use a feeding tube and a catheter, but she never had to be on a ventilator to breathe...she was always able to breathe on her own. Debi seemed to be showing some progress with the help of physical therapists, speech therapists, and occupational therapists. This encouraged the family not to give up hope. After three weeks at the rehab hospital, Debi's course would be altered again. She had a very severe seizure. She was immediately rushed to emergency at Pomona Valley Hospital. While there, they hooked her up to a ventilator. Everyone knew doing this was risky for Debi because ventilators open up a path for infection and Debi’s immune system was still very suppressed. At one point, it looked like Debi was not going survive, but thanks to a swift thinking nurse, Debi was given morphine and almost instantly her heart was rate stabilized. After five days, they were able to wean her off of the ventilator and once again Debi proved how strong a fighter she really was. After two weeks in ICU, at our insurance companies request, Debi was transferred to their Riverside Hospital. While in the Riverside facility, Debi did not receive much therapy. Nick gave her most of the physical therapy as he was with her every day. After about three weeks, her progress was unbelievable! Debi started to move her legs and arms better than ever. One of the highlights of her stay in Riverside was when she laughed for the first time. Her mom and sister just arrived to see her so Nick went out to get a soda. They were telling her a story that was funny and Debi just started laughing. Of course Nick had just left the room so he didn't get to see it. When he returned five minutes later, he couldn't believe it! He thought they were crazy and that she was displaying pain, but they told her the same story and she laughed again! She laughed about eight times. All three were crying because they were so happy. This was one of the best things that has happened for them throughout the ordeal. Click here to view a very short video clip of Debi laughing in Riverside, CA on 6-28-02. Sorry no audio. Over the next week, she would only laugh maybe once a day. Nick would tell her to move her finger for yes and then ask questions. She was able to somewhat communicate that way. It took her a little while to move what she needed to move, but they saw progress. Being able to do what she was asked meant that she was definitely not in a persistent vegetative state like the doctors had thought. She even tried to make some sounds. They also saw her nodding her head and the nurses were excited about her progress as well. It was almost as if the seizure she had at Casa Colina sparked something in her brain making her more responsive. Debi spent the entire summer at the Riverside facility with only Nick helping with the physical therapy. Although Debi could not move well on her own, or speak or swallow, she did not have any physical or speech therapy while at this hospital setting. Once again, Nick fought hard to get her placed back at Casa Colina. In mid-August, Debi was admitted back into Casa Colina Rehab Hospital where she was able to get extensive therapy. With daily help from speech therapy, Debi was able to vocalize the word "Hi". She also seemed to be more alert in the rehab facility. Her white blood count was very low throughout this time and visitors had to wear masks while in her presence. In October, Debi re-gained the ability to cry. The uncontrollable crying was hard for the family to watch, but they knew it was something she had not been able to do for the past seven months, so it was progress. Around this same time, Debi was able to move her arms and legs a little better as well. She also started to regain control of her facial muscles and was able to smile just like she used to. Debi has a beautiful smile and even though she had gone through a certain hell in the last year, she still managed to smile and laugh at appropriate times. After spending most of the day doing rehab, Debi would watch television at night. She would watch reruns of Friends, Will & Grace, and Everybody Loves Raymond. She looked so content watching these shows, laughing hysterically at all the funny parts. Watching her view these shows further demonstrated to every one around her how much she was really, "In there." Nick continued to drive down the hill everyday to spend the entire day with Debi. He took care of her completely. Her mother, father and sisters would rotate evenings and weekends so that at least one of them was there for her as well. Debi knew that she was not alone during her fight to win this war. The holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas were also spent at the rehab facility lounge with the entire family. Her daughter Kristina celebrated her 13th birthday there as well. Although Debi could not speak, she was sure to feel the intense love and caring that her family had to offer. Click here to listen to a audio clip of Debi verbalizing the word “Hi” while being coached by her husband Nick, at Casa Colina Rehabilitation Hospital on 9-8-02. On January 17, 2003, after 326 days and five hospitals later, Debi had to go home. Even though the family wanted her to stay at the rehab facility, financial restrictions would not allow her to stay. Nick agreed to take her home and take care of her. The Southern California Edison employees once again came through and donated more of their vacation days to make this possible. He currently does not have to return to work until at least the end of October. If Nick couldn't be at home to take care of Debi, she would most likely be in a nursing home...even at her tender young age. Debi, however, seemed to feel more at ease at home. Nick alone continues doing the physical therapy and taking care of her every need. He has to carry her from wheel chair to the bed, change her, make sure the feeding tube is working & replace her food, and give her medicines. On top of all this, he has to help raise his two teenage children who are trying to cope with this tragic situation as well. Debi celebrated her 43rd birthday on March 19 at home with her family and friends. A few days later, her oncologist stated that her latest blood test indicated the cancer is still in remission. Progress in other areas seems slow and sometimes non-existent. She has good days and bad days, as well as her family who are going through this with her. Debi continues to prove to everyone who knows her how much of a fighter she really is, and how she is trying to get one step closer to a miracle. Just like she said before in her journal: "I guess this invader is going to be tough; I'll just have to be tougher! I'm fighting a war. I'm using any ammunition I can against this enemy. I will win!" On behalf of Debi's family and friends, we thank you for taking the time to read Debi’s journey and ask that you please add her to your daily prayers and churches prayer list, as we believe she is truly living on a prayer. Please feel free to view Debi's updates at your leisure and May God bless you all.
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