Bonifacio Ethan an easy going kid and very laid back. He enjoys fast & iconic cars, 80’s music, playing guitar, watching movies, and drawing cars. He’s a swimmer & in track. He’s a senior and plans on going to CCS or Lawrence Tech for Transportation Design.
Ethan was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma in 2005 two months shy of his 4th birthday. One night, while he was sleeping, he turned over onto his belly and cried in his sleep for about 15-30 seconds then he would stop. This went on multiple times throughout the night. I rubbed his belly to help with the pain and I felt a hard windy lump. As soon as the doctor’s office opened I called to make an appointment. The nurse said that he’s probably just constipated but I insisted on bringing him in.
I took him to the appointment and when the doctor was assessing him I could tell that something was not right. She brought in another physician for a second opinion. They also felt the lump but unsure what it was. They had us go to the ER immediately and called ahead for the ER physician to expect us.
From there, after the CT scan, multiple doctors came in and told us Ethan had cancer and needed to be admitted and have surgery. The following day he had surgery where they removed a grapefruit sized tumor that grew on top of his adrenal gland located on top of his kidney. They were able to save his kidney but the tumor spread to his lymph nodes making its way to his lung. Miraculously, after several hours they were able to remove the whole tumor and affected lymph nodes.
This type of tumor is aggressive but since they were able to remove it completely his prognosis improved and didn’t require chemo and radiation at that time. His treatment was watching and waiting with frequent tests for 5 years awaiting for the tumor cells to proliferate. Fortunately, to this day he is still in remission.
Hope session by Meg Elizabeth Photography | Facebook | Instagram