Ewan is very social, but can be quiet or shy at first. He is a loyal, loving friend and he works very hard. He has kept up with his school work because he loves to learn. He is pretty open and honest about his illness. Ewan has a great sense of humor and loves to laugh but is sensitive about being made fun of. He loves Legos and superheroes, especially Captain America and Batman. He is incredibly thoughtful.
In the summer of 2016, he had leg pain and bruising. That is when we discovered he had Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. He had 12 inpatient hospital stays for a total of 59 days in the hospital in the last year. Over 100 lab draws, 91 missed days of school last year, and over 20 spinal taps. He receives Chemo taken every day until 2/28/2020. And he has some depression.
Ewan is in a deep remission and we are profoundly grateful that he is responding so well to treatment. We are very thankful to live near Seattle Children’s where he is receiving excellent care.
Harper is the typical boy!! We live on a farm and have cows, a donkey, and we raise tobacco so we love being outside! He loves sports, but especially baseball.
In December of 2015, Harper stopped using his arm. He said it was ouchy and wanted us to take it off. It was then we found out he had Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. He is currently in maintenance phase of treatment. We go to Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital monthly for chemo through his port. We also have spinal taps every 3 months. He takes oral chemo medications daily at home. Because his immune system is compromised, he can get sick easily. We just spent 5 days in the hospital with high fevers and severe pain. He was diagnosed with epididimitis. Last May, he had a horrible reaction to a chemo medication that caused liver failure. Doctors were able to correct the reaction and he does not have any damage to his liver.
Harper has a twin brother, Hayden, and cancer is especially hard for him to understand. I took a leave from my teaching position at Montgomery Central Elementary School when he was first diagnosed. This year, I resigned my position in order to be at home with my boys and care for them.
Harper is an amazing child who has strength that only God can give. I can’t imagine the pain he experiences on a daily basis. I can only encourage him and give him unconditional love.
Caroline is amazingly bright. She’s thoughtful, feisty and opinionated. She love to sing and music. She has been pining to see the Broadway show Hamilton. She also loves animals and is a true girly girl.
On October 26, 2016 she was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia after having swollen lymph nodes, fatigue and leg pain. She began chemotherapy, IV, spinal, and oral.
Our family has been heavily impacted. We also have an 8 year old son diagnosed on the autism spectrum this year and a 16 year old son with clinical depression. It’s been rough tosay the least. Through it all, Caroline is the love of our lives and has so much to give to the world!
Gio is a very lovable, friendly and sensitive 7 year old. He loves playing soccer, watching the wrestling from the WWE, and lately he’s been into Pokemon (Pikachu). I say he’s really sensitive because when we show him pictures of when he was really sick at the PICU he starts crying.
Our life changed forever since since his diagnosis. We were a family that loved to go out for at least n ice cream, to the park or any family friendly event around town and now we can’t do those things. My son doesn’t likes to go out because he’s embarrassed that other kids look at him weird for wearing a mask or when he lost his hair.
Early last year, Gio had a lot of fevers, poor appetite and even had a heart attack and multiple strokes. He was diagnosed with Very High Risk President B Cell ALL Leukemia on February 8, 2017. He’s had a heart biopsy along with multiple bone marrow biopsies and his chemotherapy treatment.
My baby is a fighter who doesn’t give up because he’s just been through so much at his 7 years of life and always has a smile on his face.
Manny is an old soul. He is very passionate about advocating for anything related to childhood cancer awareness. He loves to do everything. He loves school, games, time with family and friends, sports… He LOVES LIFE and finds all kinds of ways to enjoy it. He has bought joy and laughter to so many.
He was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia on October 4th, 2011 after being pale, having fatigue, and bruising easily. His treatments consisted of three and a half years of iv chemo and oral meds every single day for 3 and a half years. He has had 26 lumbar punctures with methotrexate, numerous blood transfusions, picc placement and removal, port placement and removal (two times).
Manny has had a few complications like having to learn to walk again two months into treatment due to an almost deadly leg infection. Can’t do many activities that require walking or running for long. Has severe pain and limps if he does activities that makes it worse. He has a fracture in both feet, therefore had to give up soccer and karate.
His cancer diagnosis forever changed our outlook on life and how fortunate we are to still have him around. Manny has heard of a handful of his friends that have relapsed or have unfortunately lost their lives. The entire experience itself has changed how he views life as well, we’ll say, he has become an adult in a little boy’s body. He and we are very aware of how lucky we are that he has been off of treatment for almost 3 years and thankfully continues to do well.
We as a family have become cancer advocates, engaging in many activities to raise awareness. Manny has embraced this as a mission of his from very young. We do awareness projects with Northwestern Mutual and he was recently chosen as Boy of the Year for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
Our family has grown and changed in so many ways that it is hard to explain; other than we saw the good, the bad and the ugly in one another during 3 and a half years. It has strengthened each one of us in a way of its own.
