Meet William – Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

On August 6th, 2015 our son William was diagnosed with T-cell ALL which was an incredible shock to our family. We thought he had a virus or a bad case of the flu when we brought him into the hospital that day. The diagnosis of cancer was heartbreaking and scary, he was only 2 years old and it seemed impossible that he could have cancer. It was awful to see his physical decline. He stopped walking completely and suffered with terrible side effects from treatment along with numerous other complications. Throughout it all he enjoyed making us laugh and his spirit remained strong. Even on the days that he could barely move he would fly his planes and ask to watch his favourite shows. He taught us a lot about perseverance, positive attitude and living moment by moment.

After seven months of chemo, William still had detectable leukemia and could no longer proceed on the treatment plan for his type of disease. He needed a bone marrow transplant. Thankfully we had completed the blood work for matching and knew that his big brother Edward, who was 5 years old at the time, was a perfect match. On April 1, 2016 William had his transplant. We anxiously waited for the new cells to do their work and about 45 days post transplant we finally received the news that there was no detectable leukemia in his bone marrow. It was around this time that the kids were finally able to see each other and William was discharged from the hospital. The first few months home was a challenge as I learned to do his nursing care. Every day he got stronger and we could start going on outings to the park and other public places.

Our boys are inseparable and play together every possible moment. William is now 18 months post transplant and recently started Junior Kindergarten, a milestone we thought we would never see. There will be long term health challenges but he is happy, active and brings joy to everyone around him.

We are so thankful to have the opportunity to receive these beautiful family photos. They exhibit fun, strength and joy which exactly describes our life.