Liam Tyler Wermelinger 05/11/2015-05/06/2018
Liam made a lot of experiences in his short life. He was a pretty normal little boy until he was 18 months old.
Everything changed suddenly in November 2016 while we were on vacation in the United States. Towards the end of our stay, we noticed changes in Liam’s behavior. He was unable to crawl or pull himself up. He had lost his strength. Liam had high fever that was difficult to control, and he had become very pale.
On the evening of your return to Switzerland, we went to the Children’s Hospital Zurich (Kispi). That is when Liam was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). After receiving these news we spent five months in the Kispi inpatient unit. The first couple of months were very difficult for Liam. He had two intestinal bleedings, and he had to be moved to the ICU. He fought for his life.
In the spring he was doing better, fighting back with all his strength. We were able to be at home for extended periods of time, but still had to be in the Kispi for daily check-ups. Liam required a bone marrow transplantation, which was scheduled for end of May. Everything was ready, but suddenly Liam’s cancer cells had come back, and the transplantation had to be put on hold. Our physicians decided to do an antibody therapy. Luckily, the cancer cells disappeared, and by the end of June we were able to go to isolation unit for the transplantation. So, on July 20th 2017, Liam’s bone marrow got transplanted. Finally, we were able to go home at the end of August.
After almost three months, there were terrible news again on November 21. Liam had a relapse. The cancer was back, and it had already spread rapidly. All our physicians were challenged to decide on the next step. They quickly found a solution. After another three weeks of chemotherapy and severe side effects, we were able to travel to Seattle after all. A new CAR-T cell therapy was supposed to help.
Liam had additional chemotherapies in Seattle. There were complications, and his heart stopped beating at some point. Then we spent four months in the ICU. The cell therapy had to be postponed. The cancer became more and more aggressive, and Liam became more and more weak. But after every setback, he fought back for his life. On April 20, 2018, Liam finally received his CAR-T cells. He was in poor health, but the CAR-T cells were his last chance. In the beginning, things looked promising, but then the cells became really active, and Liam fought hard. The cells did a good job and were able to defeat the cancer in his blood. But the cancer had already spread to all organs, and his organs were damaged from all the therapies. True to his nature as a fighter, Liam died in our arms on May 6, 2018, shortly before his third birthday on May 11.
Liam has showed us and everybody else in his life, how much a child can achieve when there is a will. Even during all those difficult times, he always cracked a smile and never gave up. This has inspired us to found the Little Big Hero Foundation.