I have 3 boys, Mark (22yrs) Matthew (17yrs) Michael (14yrs). Mark & Matthew love baseball and are big Astros fans, they love to joke around, watch comedies and just sit around watching funny YouTube videos. If they’re not playing video games they’re trying to build a robot or take things apart and put them back together.
Matthew was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia on the Memorial Day weekend of 2019. What was supposed to be the start of a great summer vacation turned out to be the worst memorial weekend ever. In February 2019 Matthew had been complaining about being tired all of the time and had frequent headaches. He was scheduled to take a few important exams that month so I blamed it on that, He was worried and stressed about the tests. Spring break came along and I literally had to drag him outside, still complaining about headaches, tiredness, and his legs hurting (which I blamed on him growing). I made an appointment and all his pediatrician said was that he had the “kissing disease” and that he would be ok within a few weeks. I could tell he wasn’t himself but I just blamed it on stress from being a freshman in high school and growing pains. That went on from February to May, off and on till he collapsed on me on Memorial Day. I should’ve asked more questions about the so-called “kissing disease” or asked for more lab work but I thought it was just all normal.
We are blessed to say that Matthew is now in maintenance and doing well. He’s had countless chemo treatments, lumbar punctures, bone marrow biopsies, and many long hospital stays. We have ongoing financial stress, Covid didn’t help and all we can do is try to meet those financial needs on a daily basis.
Matthew is a fighter, He lost 60 bs the first year that he was diagnosed, lost his smile, the sparkle in his eye; he had to use a walker and wheelchair to move around. He worked hard through physical therapy to regain his strength and worked hard to gain his weight back – slowly his smile and sparkle in his eyes started showing up again.
Hope session by Celia Lewis Photography | Facebook | Instagram