Anthony was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in January of 2023 at 3 years old. Before him being diagnosed, he was in a lot of random pain. Every little touch on his body seemed to hurt him. He started walking with a limp and was lethargic and just overall not himself. He was in physical therapy for an ankle injury. We had already been to his pediatrician where they did x-rays of his both legs from his femur down to his ankle to check for any fractures. Everything was normal. His therapist recommended we go back to the doctor to get some blood work done. She was worried he might have some bone deficiencies or rheumatoid arthritis.

We went back to his pediatrician who sent us to get lab work done. Never in a million years did we think this would be the outcome. I got the call from his pediatrician saying that we needed to pack a bag and go to the ER and talk to a hematologist to run further tests. She was so vague. We had no idea what was going on. We went and ran more tests and one of the ER doctors finally told us what was going on. He has Leukemia.

We were admitted and were in the hospital for 2 months. He had a port surgically placed in him. He started his treatment journey with IV chemo, spinal chemo, and steroids. Our stay was extended because he developed severe stomach issues. We had many consults from infectious diseases, pediatric surgery, and GI doctors who all ran many tests. The pain was so bad that he was on a morphine drip. They never found anything wrong and concluded that the treatment was just upsetting his GI and causing slow motility. After 2 long months, we finally got to go home.

Since then, he’s had many clinic visits, ER visits, and admission stays. He’s endured many IV and spinal treatments, some allergic reactions, and illnesses. We are now in the maintenance phase where we don’t have to go to the clinic as often and mostly do oral treatment at home. There are still ups and downs but overall, Anthony is doing well.

This has been very hard on our family. With every admission stay, having to separate from our other kids to be there with Anthony. Every time he catches a fever, having to leave in the middle of the night and head to the ER. Having complications with his treatment set us back. His diagnosis has forever changed our lives.

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