Hudson is super silly! He is starting to let his personality really shine through. We didn’t hear his laugh for the longest time, and now his belly laugh makes us grin ear to ear each time. Hudson loves to play with mama and dada, but the tickles are what he squeals for! Hudson loves all things construction, especially the vehicles. He has every truck imaginable, PJs with excavators, and his favorite show is even called Trash Truck.
Hudson was diagnosed with Retinoblastoma in 2020 when he was just 6 months old. His eyes weren’t 100% aligned and I fought hard as his advocate. It was not noticeable to anyone but myself, but I felt something wasn’t right. I brought him to the pediatrician who said everything was fine, but I brought him back 1 week later. The doctor put in a referral for an ophthalmologist, but the appointment was months out. I brought him in a third time a few days later, and that’s when the doctor noticed something with the light of his eyes. She put in an emergency appointment the next day. Two days later he was starting his first chemo treatment.
Since then, he has undergone 7 rounds of chemotherapy, 20+ exams under anesthesia, and laser treatments. Since Hudson was still immunocompromised, when he tested positive for Covid in January of this year, it hit him hard. Hudson had a collapsed lung from all of the damage. Just recently, Hudson became very sick. After a week’s stay in the PICU at Riley Children’s Hospital, Hudson was diagnosed with RSV, Rhinovirus, Bronchiolitis, AND Pneumonia. All of these things would not typically put a child in the hospital on oxygen, but they did for our special warrior.
Hudson does not have vision in his left eye, as the tumor takes up the entire space. He may have some peripheral vision, but not much. He also has a prescription in his remaining sighted eye. Hudson has to wear protective glasses in order to keep his right eye safe from injury. Hudson does not have any depth perception and regularly falls as a result.
Cancer has truly changed our lives. We aren’t able to go out and do normal activities that many children can do for fear of illness. We are cautious about going anywhere inside with larger crowds, and even outside with larger crowds. Hudson hasn’t been exposed to the world as other children have been. As a third-grade teacher, I took all of 2020-2021 unpaid leave off to be with Hudson during his treatments. With his recent ER and 7-day PICU stay, we are struggling financially.
Hudson is determined, strong, resilient, and brave. He is a fighter!
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