King is nothing short of amazing. He is an old soul and full of life, love, and laughter. He is the reason we continue to push through each day. He inspires us and countless others.
On Monday, June 6th, 2016 at two years old, King was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in the high-risk category. His treatment plan is three and a half years of DAILY chemotherapy. He receives oral chemo daily, intravenously chemo and chemo in his spine. King also has an enzyme deficiency called G6PD that complicates his treatment. It is a rare and deadly combination to have both G6PD and leukemia. G6PD is lifelong there is no cure. Leukemia affects the white blood cells and G6PD affects red blood cells. Avoidance of triggers is critical as once triggered it requires a blood transfusion and can be fatal. Triggers for G6PD are viruses such as the common cold or flu, soy, beans, medications or foods with sulfites, products with menthol (halls, Vicks vaporub), peppermints, and mothballs.
At this point King takes 70+ pills monthly and it will continue to increase as his weight increases. King has many side effects but the two severe ones are brain swelling and nerve damage. He lost the ability to walk for months but thankfully we were able to rehabilitate him and today you would never know. Drake’s song Hotline Bling and Calvin Harris’s song featuring Rihanna, This Is What You Came For are the only two songs that got King out of bed after the first few weeks of treatment. Due to the nerve damage; candy, food nor toys could get him out of bed. King wants to meet them in person one day to thank them for positively impacting his life.
King is truly a walking miracle. He goes through things that many adults are not able to tolerate. He’s had more spinal taps in the past three years than an average adult will have in their lifetime. We are infinitely grateful for each and every day King wakes up to spend another day with us. He’s a warrior with the heart of a lion. We know he will be the change we wish to see in the world. Hence his hashtag and pose; #KingStrong.
King has been on various television stations such as Eyewitness news channel 7, PIX11, and News12LI. On Tuesday, October 2nd King was sworn in at One Police Plaza as an NYPD police officer and thirty seconds later promoted to a three-star chief – Chief King! King has many future goals one of which is to be the first global leukemia model. He also wants to be a chef and a doctor. King has walked in New York Fashion Week (NYFW), Jersey City Fashion Week (JCFW), and Bloomingdales this year.
King loves to help others, especially his three-year-old brother Mesiah and eleven-month-old baby sister Faith. King recently told us that he wants to build homes for homeless people and then build one for himself. We have extensive water damage in our basement that is rather costly right now and it prevents him and his brother from having an area to learn and play. I work full time and my husband (who has a bachelor’s degree in Nursing) stays home with him and his siblings full time as it is too expensive both monetarily and physically. Although surviving on one income has caused a financial strain on the family and an increase in King’s medical collection debt, King’s health has significantly improved since my husband made the decision to be his primary caretaker.
Despite all that King has been through and continues to go through, he is always smiling and inspires us and countless others on a daily basis. King is an AMAZING big brother who wishes is to go on vacation to Destin Beach, Florida. He loves the beach! We believe everything happens for a reason and it is all about perspective so we remain positive and find the good in everything. We truly appreciate the various means of support whether it is prayers, visits, positive messages, or donations. It reinforces that we are not alone on this difficult journey and encourages all of us to keep fighting.
When a child is diagnosed with cancer it affects the entire family. Many survivors deal with chronic medical issues once the treatment is completed. Treatment should not cause secondary cancer. Yet, pediatric cancer is heavily underfunded. We are childhood cancer advocates and believe research funding is important as it can lead to less toxic treatment and cures. Most patients die from the complications associated with cancer and its treatment. We are on a mission to spread global awareness about childhood cancer in hopes that one day research is done to declare cancer a thing of the past. All children deserve to grow up!
King does not let anything stop him and neither will we. Cancer does not define us, WE define cancer.
Hope session by Rebecca Brookstein Photography | Facebook | Instagram