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Thatcher is a very outgoing and social seven-year-old boy. He loves learning and school and enjoys math and science the most. He has many aspirations for his future, including being a chef and dad when he grows up. He has many hobbies, including performing magic tricks, jokes, and pranks, and performing with the local theater program.

Thatcher was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma in September of 2019. Before his diagnosis, he was having stomach pain and random bouts of vomiting for almost exactly a year before his main tumor was found during an abdominal ultrasound. We took him to urgent care multiple times during that year where they performed chest X-rays and said he was just constipated. The gastroenterologist only looked at Thatcher’s upper digestive tract. Finally, an ultrasound was ordered by his pediatrician and the ultrasound discovered a large mass around his adrenal gland. We were sent to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital where he was officially diagnosed with stage 4 high-risk Neuroblastoma.

Thatcher has had 2 double lumen power Hickman central line placement surgeries (the first one had a blood stream infection), 5 rounds of chemotherapy, antibody treatment, a 10 hour tumor resection surgery (removing >95% tumor, multiple lymph nodes, and left adrenal gland). He had an additional 2 rounds of high-dose chemotherapy, 2 autologous stem cell transplants, 12 doses of proton radiation, 2 ICU stays, 1 emergency heart surgery placing a pericardial window, 6 rounds of immunotherapy, 4 bone marrow aspirations, countless blood transfusions and units of platelets, and 150+ injections.

Side effects caused by treatment include pulmonary hypertension, pericardial effusion, high blood pressure, renal hypoperfusion, metabolic acidosis, hyperkalemia, stage 2 chronic kidney disease, prolonged anemia, recurrent C. difficile, shingles, required NG supplemental feeds and TPN, permanent grade 3 ototoxicity hearing loss, and hair loss.

Throughout treatment, Thatcher’s diagnosis brought many challenges. Lindsay (Thatcher’s mom) had to take leave from teaching to become Thatcher’s full-time caregiver in Memphis. Thatcher’s little brother, Gideon was only 19 mos. old when Thatcher was diagnosed. His routine was turned upside down. Kendal, Thatcher’s dad worked remotely from Memphis every other week and traveled home to Nixa, MO to work on the opposite weeks. The pandemic began between Thatcher’s two stem cell transplants which made what normalcy we had as a family more difficult to maintain.

Thatcher’s Support Page

Hope Session by Terra Fondriest Photography | Instagram

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