At the beginning of February 2021, Harold seemed to have a lot of different discomforts. It was really hard to know what was up. He would say one day his stomach hurt, and his legs another day. Until he started to get a low-grade fever, so I decided to take him to the pediatrician, I thought it might be an ear infection (this was on Friday 5th) the doctor checked him and said he doesn’t have an infection, it was a bit red. So, he gave me a prescription for antibiotics so we were covered over the weekend if he complained more.
On Sunday, the low-grade fever was still there, so I told my husband that before getting the antibiotics, that we should take him to the Nicklaus urgent care, so they can check him (I didn’t want to give him antibiotics if it was necessary). They check him and said that his ears are fine, and his physical was fine as well. So they told us, he could be fighting a virus. We got sent home.
His fever disappeared for a couple of days, but he was less active and I could see something was up. On February 12th, the low-grade fever came back, and he was super low energy and complaining of different aches. We were at the beach, his favorite place, and was he sitting down and not really enjoying it. So we kept monitoring him,
On February 13th I told my husband something is not right and you have to take him to urgent care, and demand some bloodwork or for them to perform a virus test, something. So he took them, we spoke with the doctor on call that day and explained everything. I asked her to run some tests because we had not acted as himself. She did an X-ray of his neck because she had felt an enlarged lymph node, she knew that it wouldn’t show anything, but in urgent care, they have limited things they can do. Then she did bloodwork, and the came abnormal. She came back and told us an ambulance is coming to take us to the hospital and that and hematologist-oncologist on call is waiting for us.
We got to the hospital they did a lot of tests and on February 14th they confirmed that he had Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. He was admitted to the hospital and started treatment.
Harold has been a real champ, he has shown how strong he is. He has handled with maturity everything. He just turned 4 on July 20th. He has an army behind us supporting us, and we have to give him the support and love he needs to get thru this. We have good days and bad days, but we focus on the good. The side effects have been very gentle with him so far, we continue to pray that this continues. We focus on nourishing his body and mind, so he can have the strength he needs to get through this. His siblings have been part of the process, we try to have all family members help and teach them the things that their brother will go thru (in very simple words).
It’s been quite the change for all, but we are living day by day and counting our blessings. Everyone has good days and bad days, but we regroup and focus on our goal, keep everyone healthy. We try to dedicate time to Pia and Lucas, do things that make them feel special and love, we try to give them the attention they need (they are only 5 y/o).
We have a team of doctors and practitioners that we trust and feel comfortable with. We decided to tackle this diagnosis in phases. We try to take it step by step. Living the present without thinking of what’s to come.
This diagnosis is truly a roller coaster ride, and even though there are some very rough patches, I feel a lot of good that has come with this experience. We appreciate the help from non-profits like yours that give us happy moments, those moments that boost our energy to keep fighting.
Hope session by Once Upon a Moment Photography | Instagram