William was diagnosed with ALL on 9/23/2023. He had what we thought were constipation symptoms. As the days progressed, he lost his appetite, didn’t want to walk, and started throwing up.
William has already had one surgery, 3 rounds of infusion therapy, 3 rounds of chemotherapy, and is on daily steroids and symptom relief medications at home. It’s been hard juggling his care and maintaining some normalcy for our other children.
I was supposed to start a new job and William was going to go to an amazing daycare. All of that changed the day he was diagnosed. I’m now his primary caregiver, and my husband works his butt off to support our family. We try to keep life as normal as possible for our older children and it’s all very difficult.
Liam is a energetic little boy, he likes simple things , he likes to act silly to makes us laugh.Â
Liam was diagnosed with ALL on November 29, 2022. Before his diagnosis, Liam experienced fevers for more than 2 weeks, developed petechiae, was bruising a lot, and he was pale.
We have had to put our lives on a pause, and many events had to be canceled.
William is autistic and can be shy at times. He loves Blippi, his tablet, spinning objects, mirrors, and lights. He also loves helicopters and learning numbers, letters, and shapes. He has fun running and playing chase.
William was diagnosed with B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia on September 30th 2022. His only symptom was low iron which was found at a routine appointment. We followed up with more bloodwork after his iron levels decreased while on an iron supplement and leukemia was discovered. We’re very lucky it was found as early as it was and that he’s had minimal symptoms.
He has had a port placed and we have begun chemotherapy. William sometimes has very low energy and his immune system is compromised due to treatment.
He is an identical twin and it’s very hard on him and his brother right now. They have spent their first nights apart since birth which was hard on all of us. Since being back home, Stevie (his twin) is having a hard time adjusting to not having an energetic play buddy. It’s a lot of change for them.
William was diagnosed on March 4, 2021, with leukemia. He had no symptoms other than a few small patches of petechiae and a few small bruises. We were at a routine pediatrician appointment for his asthma and I asked her to look at the red spots on his tummy and she noticed two small bruises on his hands. She knew and blood work confirmed cancer. He has done pretty well so far but is very high risk as he was not clear at the end of induction and has the MLL rearrangement.
He’s been through a lot of LPs and 5 hospital stays so far. He’s been neutropenic through a lot of treatment so far so we have been very isolated. That’s probably been the hardest part. That and my husband and I both working from home throughout.
We also have a 9-year-old daughter who has had to go virtual with school and miss a lot of time with friends. We also have a 2.5-year-old son who struggles to understand changes and isn’t sleeping well. Balancing everything without much help due to being isolated has been a struggle.
Through all of this, William shines bright! His smile lights up every room. His laugh is infectious and he’s charmed all the hospital staff.
Liam was in the ER with what was thought to be a viral illness. A month after being discharged he was back in the ER again with similar symptoms. This was suspicious enough that he was transferred to the children’s hospital to see the oncologist and then was correctly diagnosed with Leukemia on March 16th, 2020.
He has had lots of oral and IV chemotherapy, regular lumbar punctures, and occasional marrow biopsies. We of course have the financial struggles that come along with the treatment of cancer. Outside of that, the biggest struggles have just been trying to maintain stability and normalcy as we go through treatment and a pandemic. It’s hard on the kids!
Liam is so strong and so brave. Through this whole journey, he hasn’t slowed down. He has some bad days but they are nothing compared to all the great days he has.
