Pedro is an outgoing person, very nice and loyal. He’s super goofy! He loves turtles and likes the book The Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf. He has a big imagination and wants to be a firefighter when he grows up. He loves the Avengers and says he’s strong like the Hulk. He has been wanting to go camping and wants to go to a scavenger hunt…he’s always drawing maps. His favorite color is gold because that is a shiny color and to him it means he has found the treasure! He’s super silly as you can tell but he’s a very brave boy.
In January of 2018, Pedro was diagnosed with T-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. He had been going to preschool and for some odd reason was having lot’s of bruises on his legs. I thought someone from his class was bullying him or hitting him . The following day I was going to ask his teacher about it but that morning I saw the bruises were everywhere! I took him to the emergency department as he had red spots all over his body . They did numerous blood labs,ct scans, and xrays. Results came in and a few doctors and nurses came in the room. He had low platelets which explains the red spots and bruises. The oncologist told us that he had leukemia and had to be treated right away.
Pedro has had numerous blood and platelet transfusions and has had several spinal taps. He has endured many rounds of intense chemotherapy. At the moment, we are half way through delayed Intensification so, that’s 3 weeks of going to the outpatient clinic for chemo which is 4-5 days a week. Transportation is a struggle at times. Once Pedro is in the maintenance phase of treatment, the doctors will give us the okay for him to start kindergarten like his other friends he met in preschool.
Cancer has changed every single person in our lives. Relationships have changed since my son’s father lost his only blood brother to leukemia so it has been very tough on him. Trying to accommodate my parents and sister’s schedules every time we have to go to the clinic or to hospital stays is also difficult. But, I have Pedro, who amazes me all the time and my 4 and 2 year old that I hope can understand it all.
Estelle is one of the prettiest, kindest and sassiest 4 year olds on the planet. She loves to sing, dance and play princesses with anyone who will give her the chance. During treatment she was hardly exposed to other kids her age so she loves playing with anyone and loves holding hands. She is kind and caring and smiles constantly. She truly is one of the most beautiful creatures God has created inside and out!
Estelle was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia at 15 months old. After Estelle turned one she began to get sick on and off with fevers, ear infections and colds. As the weeks went on she regressed in walking, developed abnormal bruising on her body, became extremely lethargic and would just sit and stare at her toys. Her parents knew that something was extremely wrong and she was taken to the ER on Thursday, September 17th 2015. That was when she was diagnosed with ALL and her life-path totally changed. Her parents were told that if they’d waited any longer she could have died. Estelle finished her 2 1/2 years of treatment in January 2018 and continues to be on monthly checks to make sure the cancer doesn’t come back!
Estelle has endured endless bone marrow aspirations, spinal taps, blood draws, brain MRIs, hospital stays, finger pokes, clinic visits and 3 emergency visits due to seizures that could have taken her life. Sadly, her family will always face the fear of relapse. That will never go away. Added is the financial difficulties that arise from treatment and the normalcy of a regular life that is stolen from everyone without their choice. We live with hope, but those fears will never go away.
Estelle was diagnosed at the most formative time in a toddler’s life. She has regressed in walking, fine and gross motor skills, and has overall delays in physical development. To help her improve she goes to several hours of Occupational and Physical therapy and wears braces under her shoes that help her walk and improve her balance. As a side effect of the chemotherapy, she has developed some brain damage in her Basal Ganglia which controls fine motor skills. The doctors are hopeful that as she grows it will subside and that the continued therapy will help her build the natural abilities most kids easily attain.
There are positives and negatives to everything in life but cancer has changed us. Both mom and dad need to work to support the family. We know to live each day to the fullest and embrace the fact that we “got through it”…..but sometimes we are still scared. Estelle’s battle has reminded us how much life is a gift and no one should ever forget that. Even though we have been through a lot….staying positive is what gets us through. This attitude all started with Estelle. Her smile was contagious and it shed light over the dark every time.
Ana loves to sing, dance and music. She loves wearing dresses and even goes to sleep with them because she loves dresses so much. She loves watching my little pony and peppa pig.
Ana was diagnosed on April 6, 2018 with Leukemia. Ana had two lymph nodes that were swollen, one on each ear. This led us to make a doctor appointment. She also had bruises on her legs and stomach pain at night.
Ana is undergoing chemotherapy now. The struggles that my family experiences are financial and emotional. A lot of trips to the hospital and so that means using money for gasoline and food. It’s emotional because Ana has two other older sisters and its hard on them when mom and or dad are spending time at the hospital with the baby sister.
Ever since her diagnosis, my family’s life has changed. Cancer can really take a toll on the whole family. We have a new perspective now on what’s really important which is family and friends that have surrounded us during this challenging journey.
Ana is a for sure a fighter. She is a strong girl. If it weren’t for that, my family would be depressed and devastated every single day, but she makes us laugh and reminds us through her actions to be strong.
Alexis is so talkative, strong, friendly, lovable. Her stepfather makes her laugh and mad at the same time. She loves glitter, unicorns, fluffy stuff animals, her favorite color is blue cause of mom, purple and pink. She loves to draw, paint and color, she wants to be a veterinarian when she gets older, she loves her two pit-bulls Dino and Marley. She also laughs so hard when her brother tickles her.
Alexis was diagnosed with B-Cell Leukemia on January 4th, 2017. Her diagnosis came out of the blue. She was suffering with shortness of breath, tiredness, not wanting to do much just laying in bed no interest in anything. Her treatment consists of chemotherapy every two weeks and lots of medications at home.
This has been the hardest struggle to see your kid go through and especially for her brother. To see her suffer makes him feel powerless and the entire family had a drastic life change. I had to quit my job to be able to be with her full time. Cancer changed our entire family life we became more united. We don’t take things for granted, we love unconditionally and we live life one day at a time.
Alexis is the strongest, happiest warrior. She has shown me how to be strong and not to give up easily that no matter what life throws you. I am so proud of her and her strength!
Marshall is very active and social. A bit of a wild child and daddy’s boy. He loves dinosaurs, sports, bathroom humor (blame dad!), and underwater creatures (whales/sharks). His favorite thing is playing chase with dad.
Marshall was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in June of 2017. In the time leading up to his diagnosis he had sickness after sickness, recurring infections, was pale, and bruised easily. Our doctor finally called for bloodwork which told us why these things were happening.
Marshall receives daily chemotherapy and has had had several surgeries and sedations. Our struggles at this moment are luckily just financial. Our family life has changes some as I now stay at home instead of working. We keep Marshall more secluded which may impact his social development (hopefully not!)
Marshall is our hero. We call him our Super MarshMan! #supermarshman
Nathan is a very lovely child. He loves to play with his sister and cousins. He likes flash and spider man.
Nathan was diagnosed with Leukemia in March of 2017. He started to be sick 3 months before he was diagnosed with fever and nose bleeds. One day we took him to the ER and they told us he had all the symptoms of the leukemia. They did more testing and eventually confirmed his diagnosis.
Nathan gets chemotherapy treatment along with many other medications. He also receives blood transfusions as needed.
Nathan is such a strong child. He is always smiling during his treatments and singing to God.
