Luke is the youngest of three boys and was born during the beginning of the pandemic. He is so special to all of us because we were all home in lockdown to watch him grow. We were all here for all of the first milestones. Now that Luke is getting older and feeling better, we see quite the personality shine through. He is a huge sports guy who loves baseball and football and just discovered hockey! He enjoys hitting baseballs off the tee in the backyard and pretending to ice skate on our floors. He loves animals, especially farm animals, and dogs! He loves to clean and is great at helping with laundry. He really likes riding the mower with his Daddy, and driving around in his toy electric car. He really loves his brothers too!
Luke was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in July of 2022. In the middle of that month,, we noticed that Luke was displaying some unusual behaviors and symptoms. He did not want to walk; when he did, it seemed painful, he lost some of his color, and he constantly demanded ice to chew. We took him to the pediatrician and after a quick blood sample, it was determined he was neutropenic with a hemoglobin of 3.4. We rushed him to the children’s ER in Charlotte and when he was finally admitted to Levine Children’s Hospital, he received a blood transfusion. In total, we spent an entire week at the hospital. During our time there the doctors performed a bone marrow biopsy and after what felt like an incredibly long wait, he was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Luke then had another surgery to place a port in his chest, and he received his first round of chemo that same day. Since his diagnosis, Luke has received his treatments at Levine Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Hospital with an amazing team of people! He is about to start maintenance. This is a large bump in the road for Luke, but he constantly inspires our family with his courage and bravery. He is an amazing little boy and has been such a trooper. We are constantly asking him to do hard things for a two-year-old and with all the obstacles he faces he does it with such strength.
Luke has a port and during the past nine months, he has had iv chemo, lumbar chemo injections, blood and platelet transfusions, oral chemo, and steroids. Luke has two older brothers and they are all super close. The cancer diagnosis was a struggle, but we all try to be healthy to not have Luke catch a cold that would be hard on his body.
I stopped working to care for and get Luke to his treatments. We have mostly tried extremely hard to keep our normal routine.
Luke is an exceptional patient at Levine. He is so tough, brave, and courageous. He never cries and is so compliant when he has to get treatment. He is amazing!
Alaina is a very loving, caring, sweet, and spicy little girl. She laughs so easily, at any simple things. She loves to go for walks, socialize, play hide and seek, play with dolls, and her kitchen.
Alaina was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in December of 2021. Prior to being diagnosed, she had a fever for almost a month. I consulted with different doctors but the first two doctors weren’t concerned due to a lack of other symptoms. Upon recommendation from a family doctor, we took her to a children’s hospital. A CBC didn’t show anything however, the second time we went to the children’s hospital she was admitted because her eyes were swollen. They gave her antibiotics and after 3 days she got discharged. That night she developed a high fever and we took her back to the hospital where they found something malignant. It was confirmed the next day that she had leukemia
She was diagnosed with standard high-risk ALL. Due to a genetic mutation (hypodiploidy), she qualified for blinatumomab (immunotherapy). Right now she is in her delayed intensification phase of treatment. She has undergone several lumbar punctures, and chemotherapy, and takes a variety of medications.
Cancer has added so much stress to my life with the fear of losing your child ever-present. Some of my relationships have suffered and I get very little time to spend with my older daughter.
Alaina is a very strong child, my baby girl amazes me every day. She doesn’t complain at all unless she is really in pain. I am so lucky to have her as my daughter, the best child one could ever hope for.
Landon was diagnosed with B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in March of 2021. He is set to finish treatment on May 24th of this year.
Prior to his diagnosis, he had back pain and an unexplained low-grade fever. He was diagnosed when we went to the Emergency Room for back pain. We found out the back pain was from compressed fractures of the spine. Leukemia cells were invading the bone marrow in his spine.
He has been through chemo treatment, dental surgery (5 molars extracted), and port cleaning. We are mentally exhausted. Landon has had to learn to walk and run again. He can jump, but very limited. He is in physical therapy and Occupational Therapy. His core is very weak.
Cancer has limited us in many ways. We have to stay close to the hospital because Landon has had a rough time with the maintenance phase of treatment.
We call him Landon the conqueror because he conquers his fears with knowledge.
Ailani is kind, loving, and fun! She loves singing, dancing, and playing with baby dolls.
Ailani was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in March 2019. She did not have any symptoms leading up to her diagnosis other than petechiae. Her treatments have been extensive at multiple hospitals. She had a bone marrow transplant (BMT) July 2019, CarT in August 2020, a second BMT and clinical trial in August 2021, CarT clinical trials in March and June of 2022, and a clinical trial scheduled at CHOP for April 2023.
Ailani has been in treatment since she was 2 years old. She turns 7 next month and she’s still fighting. She has relapsed 5 times.
Maura is an energetic fun loving little girl. She LOVES to play, craft, and do sports. Her favorite thing is slime-making!
Maura was diagnosed with leukemia back in September 2022. It was a day I will never forget. Prior to her diagnosis, Maura had started having pain in her back that eventually went into her legs and other parts of her body. Two different doctors told us it was growing pains. Maura is a child who never complains unless something is really wrong so my instinct told me something was really wrong. I took her to Levine Children’s Hospital and finally, a week later after having these pains, they found out it was cancer.
Maura is seven years old and a fighter for sure. She has been going through treatment since September. She has a form of leukemia called Philadelphia positive which required her treatments to be very invasive and strong requiring periodic hospital admission. It has been difficult for us to see her go through this and deal with the side effects which include a lot of nausea and vomiting.
This hit our family very hard and was difficult at first but we managed to get into a routine with her treatments and understand the illness more. We take one day at a time and continue to pray she will conquer her illness. Maura has a sister Mia who is 10 and they are very close. We rely on each other and have gotten stronger as a family.
We have had to make life adjustments with work, our oldest daughter, and just our daily routine. You never know what is in store for you when you wake up each day but we pray and hope for the best and try to stay as strong as possible.
Aiden is pure joy. He is almost always smiling and happy even though he’s gone through so much. He loves music and dancing. He enjoys being outside. He loves his big brother Declan so much.
Aiden was diagnosed with Pre-b Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia at 8 months old. We are approaching 1yr since diagnosis on 3/24. Due to his age, we spent a lot of last year inpatient. Aiden was MRD (minimal residual disease) negative but relapsed a short time later. He just received CAR-T therapy and will be having a bone marrow transplant.
Before his diagnosis, Aiden was sick often, but we thought it was due to his older brother just starting preschool. He had a cough that just continued to linger and we noticed him looking extremely pale.
Aiden has had multiple rounds of chemo, countless lumbar punctures, and many bone marrow biopsies. Due to covid restrictions, all of our hospital stays were very lonely due to only being allowed two approved visitors and no siblings.
We have spent so many days apart as a family. My husband is the main caregiver for our 4yr old and I am the main caregiver for Aiden. We wish we could always be together.
