Mason loves fishing, camping, nerf guns, video games, and science. He is looking forward to getting involved with cub scouts again now that treatment has ended. He is an intelligent rising 5th grader – he refused to let cancer slow him down in school. He has worked so hard to keep up with his classmates. Everyone loves that Mason is always smiling! On the hardest of days, you will still see Mason smiling, never ever complaining. He loves being the big brother of the family. And mom and dad love watching him smile and laugh when playing with his brother and sister. He can be quiet when you first meet him but once you know him he will talk nonstop and you will be a fan for life!
On February 6th of 2019, just a few weeks before his 7th birthday, Mason was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. For several weeks prior to his diagnosis, we noticed Mason was more pale, bruised, and tired than usual. On February 5, 2019 Mason came home covered head to toe in petechiae and Mom (a pediatric oncology nurse for years) feared leukemia with all of the symptoms combined. We took Mason to the ER that evening and we had our official diagnosis early the next morning.
Mason has gone through bone marrow biopsies, lumbar punctures, surgeries for port placement and removal, blood and platelet transfusions, chemo (IV, oral, intrathecal), and physical therapy. Financially our family has really struggled as mom had to quit her nursing job when Mason was diagnosed.
At the time of Mason’s diagnosis, we also had an 8-week-old and a 3-year-old. Figuring out how to manage all of Mason’s care along with trying to keep his brother and sister’s life somewhat “normal” was an ongoing challenge. The whole family truly is affected by the cancer diagnosis. Our family has learned how to really appreciate every day, the small things along with the big things. Life can change so quickly.
Mason rang the bell on May 24 of this year and took his last chemo on May 28 and we could not be more proud of him!
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