Kace's Story

I remember watching "My Sisters Keeper" on the airplane... sobbing out loud. I remember saying to myself, "I could never go through that as a mother, I just couldn't do it." I've now learned never to say never, and to cherish every waking moment you have with the ones you love because never know what path lies ahead for you. 

Kace was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia on November 30th, 2010. No mother should expect to know the signs of Cancer. It's something adults get, not kids.  When I look back at photos around October of 2010, I sometimes think, how did I not know? He was pale, had dark sunken eyes, he was tired, whiney, needy, sensitive... totally out of character for Kace. He started bruising and swelling with small injuries that he couldn't explain. How did I not know?  I had x-rays done on what I thought might be a broken clavicle, the next week a broken elbow, the next week a broken arm.  I even asked him if someone was hurting him. My "mother instincts" were going haywire, something wasn't sitting right and no one could give me any answers. 

We ended up putting a cast on him, even thought the X-rays said "possible fracture". In children it's difficult to see if there's a fracture at the bend of the elbow, or if it's their bone plate. But because there was so much swelling they assumed he had broken it. They didn't know it was the Leukemia blasts in his bone marrow pushing on the inside of his bone. 

On the morning of November 30th I woke up next to an exhausted Kace, barely able to move. He had yet another sleepless night with complaints of neck and shoulder pain. I thought that it may be muscle strain from the weight of his cast. Two days prior his pediatrician prescribed him liquid pain medication to subside the pain from his "broken arm"... It wasn't working, something was wrong.  I decided to go  see the doctor who had put the cast on him,  I was running out of options.  Kace was in so much pain he couldn't even lift his little arms. I could visibly see that his lymph nodes were inflamed, his skin around his collar bone was hot, swollen and red in color... something was definitely wrong.  I zipped on a sweatshirt since he couldn't lift his arms above his waist, and we headed up to Primary Children's.  

I'll never forget the look on Dr. Klat's face as I unzipped Kace's jacket, it was terrifying to me. He looked at me and said, "This is not a fracture, I think you need to take him to the ER." My heart sank... what was it then? 3 years prior Kace had spent two weeks in the Neuro-Trauma unit due to a rare auto-immune disease called Guillian Barre Syndrome... was it back? I didn't have time to think. I gently zipped Kace's jacket back up and we headed to ER. I can't imagine what Kace was thinking or feeling at this point; I tried to stay calm and collective and assure him it was all going to be ok and that his neck would start feeling better soon. 12 hours in the Emergency Room~ they sent us home and told us they'd call when they received his test results. Most likely it was Rheumatoid Arthritis and that we'd need to get an appointment with a Rheumatologist the following day. They also mentioned there was a chance that it could be Leukemia, but due to his high blood counts, they were favoring the arthritis. I thought to myself,  how can they say all of this so casually? This is my baby and they just used the work CANCER! The ride home was all a blur... I just remember thinking, it can't be cancer... it won't be cancer. 

The phone call from Dr. Lemmons came too soon. The blood tests were inconclusive, Kace had Childhood Leukemia. I can't really remember what the doctor told me past that point, all I heard was Cancer and come up to the hospital tonight. I literally had to be picked up off the ground because I had fallen down into the fetal position. I couldn't believe this was actually happening....CANCER! I tried to pull it together quick, I had to stay strong for Kace, I had to make him feel safe. I walked into the family room, and with my Mom, Dad, brother, and husband we told Kace that he was sick. We explained that his body was hurting because of a bug called Cancer. We told him he was going to be okay, and that his body wasn't going to hurt anymore because we were going to go up to the hospital to fix it.  His Grandpa and Uncle gave him the most heartfelt blessing, and we headed back up to the hospital. Kace was so brave... I know his angels were surrounding him at that moment.

Kace flew through induction and has been in maintenance since May. He’s adjusting to this new phase of chemotherapy with strength, courage and a dying desire to be 'normal' again. There still are daily occurrences of nausea, stomach pain, exhaustion, headaches... but you'd never know unless you asked him... he doesn't want to be treated any different than the other kids. He goes to school, plays on the playground, does Tae Kwon Do, Breakdancing... all of that with taking daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly dosages of chemo. He's an amazing little man who has taught me about courage and how to look at the glass half full. I can count on one hand the amount of complaining Kace has done through this all. He's never been a victim, only a fighter!  

It's taken me about this long to get my feet under me. I went into a funk when Kace entered Maintenance; all sorts of strange emotions started surfacing.  I think because I finally had time to breathe reflect on all that had happened. It was a crazy 6 months full of ups and downs and we all had been running purely in survival mode. I can now say that I am truly thankful for my trials... and I mean it. Had this not have happened to us,  I may not have learned that life is too short to sweat the small stuff. All we have is today, and what we do today is all we can control. 

To read more about Kace and his battle with ALL you can visit his blog theincrediblekace.wordpress.com

Written by Kace's mom, Erin Smith.

Brinley's Story

Our daughter, Brinley, had just turned two years old in August of 2008.  She was a spunky, fun-loving toddler with a smile that brought sunshine into the room.  


We had noticed in the weeks before her birthday that she was limping and had seen the doctor for it.  They x-rayed and found out that she had fractured her leg a few weeks prior during a trip to Las Vegas, but it had healed on it’s own.  One week after her birthday, she tripped on our living room floor and was crying hysterically.  We couldn’t imagine what had caused her so much pain because it was not a hard fall. We looked all over for a needle or tack she may have landed on, but could find no reason for her to be in such pain.  She was up all night in pain and we finally took her to the emergency room.  Her femur had been fractured, and they immediately began looking for a reason that she would be fracturing bones.  Nothing could have prepared us for the news that cancer, Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, had invaded her tiny body and threatened to take her from us.  

Brinley went right into surgery and had a line placed in her chest that gave them constant access to her veins.  The very day after her diagnosis, our hearts ached while they quietly administered her first dose of chemotherapy as she slept peacefully in the hospital bed.  That was the beginning of a treatment that would last over two years.  In that first month, everything we loved about her personality was gone.  Her smile was gone.  Her laughter was gone.  Her playful demeanor was gone.  She was up all night, every night.  It was heart wrenching to see this change in her, and I could never describe how difficult those first months were.  As time went on, Brinley learned how to endure, how to fight back, and how to smile again, even though her challenges were great.  She had many bumps in the road, and so many days of enduring things no child should ever have to endure.  After one of her treatment days that had been particularly difficult, we went on a walk when we got home from the hospital. It had been such an exhausting and discouraging day.  As I was reflecting on the day, she looked up at me from her stroller and said “this is the best day ever”.  Surprised she would say that, I asked her “why?”  She answered “because I love walks.”  She taught us how to find the beauty when life gets hard, because there is always beauty to be found.  

Brinley has been off treatment and in remission for 10 months now.  She is regaining her strength and continues to enjoy life and we are so grateful for the lessons she taught us.  Because of her we all know how to make lemonade out of life’s lemons, and it is a lesson we will have with us forever.  She is truly a hero.  

To read more about Brinley you can visit their blog at www.sweetbrinley.com
As written by Brinley's mom: Kristin.

Meet Carson

Carson is the Youngest of three kids, he has two older sisters Sydney & Hannah who absolutely adore him. He is a very sweet and easy going little four year old. He loves animals, trucks, trains, and playing with his many friends and cousins. He loves to go to the zoo, the park, and Grandma & Grandpa's house. All pretty typical for a four year old, only he is not your average four year old.. Carson has one other place he visits on a regular basis.. Primary Children's Medical Center's Oncology Unit. On July 13th 2009 when Carson was just two years old he was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia- The Treatment Sentence for ALL= Three Years and Four months, or =Just Brutal ! During the first 9 months of his diagnosis and treatment- life was very rough, there were lots of uncertainties, it was a very scary time for both Carson and his Mommy. The first few rounds of treatment involved lots of different drugs with lots of nasty side affects, very hard hitting Chemo's, lots of back pokes, blood & platelet transfusions, very low counts, and lots and lots of Isolation. . Carson got very sick, and very thin, he lost all of his beautiful dark hair, eyebrows, and his beautiful dark eye lashes. Once he hit maintenance therapy about 10 months later life got a little easier for him, Carson started to feel and look more like a typical toddler. His hair grew back and he started feeling a lot better, luckily during this phase of treatment his meds are considered more of a low dose therapy and so he has been able to get out more and get back to being a kid again.


Carson is currently two years and two months into his treatment, he has now passed the middle mark ! Yay!! Carson is currently attending Pre-School, and this past spring he played T-Ball and he just started outdoor Soccer this fall. Carson is hardly phased by the many trips to the Oncology Clinic or the ER in which we visit regularly. He does not even flinch at a needle or a Dr Examination. It has become the norm to him. He is so brave and so special to me, I love him so much, he is and always will be Mommy's little hero.

Meet Millie

Hearing the word cancer in any form changes lives forever. It changed ours, but before we heard those devastating words in regards to our 4 year old daughter we had another trial to face.

On August 28, 2009 I delivered my second child by emergency C-section. He arrived into this world 11 weeks too soon. Thankfully Austin was strong and surprisingly big. He weighed a whopping 4 lbs 8 oz.

Austin spent a month in the NICU, a month I will never forget, a month that some days I did not think I could physically or emotionally make it through. It was difficult to leave my brand new, tiny, helpless baby in a cold hospital. Of course I knew he was in good hands, but I was his mother. The problem was I needed to be the mother of Amelia as well. She seemed to be struggling with the adjustment of sharing my time. For years it had been just Millie and I during The day while my husband was at work. We were best friends.

Luckily Austin was a fighter and although he came home on oxygen he was able to get out of that dreaded place 31 days after his birth. It was overwhelming to feel like I had passed the most difficult trial in my adult life, but I was so wrong. I had no idea as I held my little man with such pride that a horrible beast had taken hold of my daughter while I wasn’t looking.

This is Millie right around the time her cancer starting taking over. She still looks so healthy.

My sweet baby girl hadn’t been herself the first few months of being a new big sister. Millie tried to be happy but she just couldn’t be. She was so whiny and tired all the time. She would complain about her legs hurting and told me she needed to be carried. Some days she would just cry for no reason.

I knew something was wrong. I had called her doctor repeatedly but he always had a reasonable explanation for her symptoms. I started to wonder if she was reverting back to baby like behaviors. Really, I didn’t know what to think and I was overwhelmed with being a new mom again.

A few weeks later on December 17, 2009, I insisted Amelia have a blood test. While she was standing next to her other classmates during their Christmas Program it was painfully obvious at this point that something serious was going on. That afternoon we were sent to Primary Children's emergency room and we sat there terrified at the words we were waiting to hear, IT'S CANCER. There is nothing more horrific then hearing those words. At this point Miss Millie began the fight of her life against her Leukemia.

Amelia as the Happy Little Elf. She was so cute, but so sick!

On the very day of Amelia’s diagnosis Austin was at Primary Children’s Hospital as well. He had a double hernia surgery the week before and was there for his follow-up appointment to make sure everything looked good. The day Austin was officially healthy was the day Amelia's health came crumbling down. I couldn't breathe.

Both my babes at Primary Children's

Amelia was diagnosed with Pre-B Acute Lymphblastic Leukemia on December of 2009 and she will continue to get daily doses of chemotherapy through February 2012. It has been an incredibly stressful journey for so many reason, but there has also been a lot of good to come from it, like meeting all you amazing moms. We are so grateful that Millie has been responding well to her chemo. She has her ups and downs, but we are incredibly blessed that she is winning her battle while always having a smile on her face.

Amelia started Kindergarten a few weeks ago and loves it. She also has about 5 more months of chemo, but you'd never know it, She is a true ROCK STAR!

to read more about Millie, you can visit her blog 

http://bradyandamanda.blogspot.com

Chase

Chase was like any other 2 yr old little boy.  He loves trucks & cars, riding his bike, going to the park, and just having the carefree life that any 2 yr old boy deserves.  On July 22, 2010 his life was changed in a big way and very very quickly.  Unlike a lot of the kids diagnosed, Chase seemed to me to be perfectly healthy.  He had a few weird things going on, but nothing that seemed to me to be red flags for what was to come.  He was happy and healthy (at least I thought).  He had been a little extra tired, but not anything that had me worried.  He was asking for naps instead of me telling him it was time for a nap.  He had some weird really big bruises in strange places that I didn't know how he had gotten them.  He fell and bumped his lip and it was bleeding pretty bad and wouldn't stop from just one little bump.  The last thing was he started telling me that when climbing up on my bed or on a high chair that his side would hurt.  He was only 2 yrs old so I wasn't sure if he was telling me that his arm hurt or if his side hurt.  These were all things that happened on different days, spread out so I didn't think to put them all together.  But all in all he was still happy and he wasn't sick.

At the time I was about 32 weeks pregnant.  We were headed north for the next two weeks.  We live in Southern Utah and I was taking the kids to my parents house in Logan while my husband went on a golf trip to palm springs.  I was feeling huge and living where we do in July it was really hot.  So I thought we would escape the heat and get some help from grandma in the last weeks of my pregnancy.  I was in the stage of visiting the doctor every two weeks for my pregnancy so I needed to see him right before we left.  I had the car packed up ready to head to Bear Lake with my parents so we had EVERYTHING in the car.  I was just getting out of the shower when Chase came in my bathroom.  He had just woke up and his whole face was red.  He had a bloody nose and like any normal kid was wiping it all over.  I held him in my wet arms and put a rag on his nose.  I don't know if it is because I was cold and wet or because at this point I knew something had to be wrong, but it felt like forever for his bloody nose to stop.  I finished up what I had to do that morning and put the kids in the car and headed to the doctor for my OB apt.  Since I see a family doctor I just mentioned that I needed him to look at Chase while we were there.  After my exam he asked me what was going on with Chase.  I gave him the list, which at the time I was so embarrassed to tell him.  I thought for sure he would think I was crazy when I told him my 2 yr old boy had bruises (what 2 yr old doesn't?) and one single bloody nose, and just a little on the tired side.  He did a full physical exam and noticed little petacia (not sure of spelling, but these are just little spots caused by problems with the blood).  They were all over his belly.  I had noticed them in the bath tub a week or so before hand, but then it seems like they had went away so I forgot about them.  After feeling his spleen and that it was enlarged my doctor ordered a CBC.  He kept me very calm, in fact I still thought there was nothing wrong with him.  He told me that it could be ITP which is a condition of the platelets in the blood (which help it to clot).  He said that ITP causes low platelets and there is no treatment for it.  You just have to wait for it to go away and be super careful when his platelet counts are low.  ***I now know that he had a hunch that it was Leukemia but wanted to keep a hugely prego, mom of two, driving alone up north, calm.  He knew that the lab results would come back before I reached the Salt Lake area and then he would deal with it then.  I drove to Salt Lake pretty calm, but thinking that Chase's spleen was so big that at any time it could burst and we would be in big trouble.  Little did I know that would become the least of my problems.

We reached the Salt Lake area and I had not heard from my doctor yet so I started to panic.  He had told me that as soon as the result were back he would call because if it wasn't ITP then we would be going to Primary Children's for follow up's.  Again, he never told me the alternative and for some reason I never asked.  I called my doc and the nurse knew who I was and acted a little weird when she said, "Oh, he is in a room with a patient but I know he wants to talk to you so he will call you right back."  The fact that the nurse was filled in on Chase's situation made me a little suspicious.  I was at 5200 S. when he finally called me back.  He asked where I was, and then said to head up to Primary's.  I knew where it was but had not been there since I was young enough that my mom was driving me there.  So I immediately got off the freeway to finish talking to him.  He said that Primary's wanted to run more lab's and that we should go to the ER.  He also told me not to panic, and to not have my husband turn around.  Remember he is on his way to Palm Springs.  So since he said this, I again thought it can't be too serious.

We got to the ER and it was FULL of sick people.  I waited at the desk behind a lady who was complaining that her little girl had a fever and has been waiting for 2 hours.  AHHH!  First of all we were all healthy and on our way to vacation.  The last thing I wanted was for anyone to be sick while we were at the lake.  I didn't want to sit in that waiting room full of sick people.  I walked up to the desk and told them Chase Prince was here from St. George.  I also told them that while we waited we would be down the hall or outside.  We were not waiting there.  We walked away for about 5 min when the nurse said they were ready for us.  WHAT?  That lady said she had been waiting for 2 hours.  Why us?  Why so quick?  Then I told myself that it was because all we needed was another CBC and we would be on our way.  Once we got into the room it is all a blur to me.  My mom came down because I called her and told her that they wanted to keep him overnight to give him blood.  His red blood was too low.  I needed somewhere for Abby to go, and thankfully my brother in law lives five minutes from the hospital and was there before we even got checked in.  It is a night I will never forget.  A night of confusion.  A night of wonder.  A night that changed our lives forever.  And I still had no idea why we were really there.

They hooked Chase up to some antibiotic drip and again, I still do not know why.  They never said anything, but that they wanted him to be protected from all the germs in the hospital because his blood levels were so low.  (I look back and wonder how I was so blind to all that was going on around me).   We walked up to the ICS floor and once we walked through those double doors where you have to wash your hands I knew something was up.  I knew that this wasn't some little problem that would go away on it's own.  I knew we must be in for the long haul.  One nurse had said they were looking for "the C word."  I think it was the mommy in me that didn't want to ask what "the C word" was so I just stayed blind to it all until the moment of walking through those doors.  Chase's nurse for the night saw us coming down the hall.  She took one look at my healthy little boy that was as happy as can be and said, "oh, he has the good kind."  I tried to play along to get more info out of her, but she could tell I knew nothing.  She went to find the medical assistant that was helping with Chase down in the ER.  She came into our room and said to us, "they didn't tell you anything, did they?"  The medical assistant had filled her in on what had happened downstairs and the nurse was livid.  She couldn't believe that we had no idea what we were really doing there.  Again, a lot of this was me being very blind and probably in denial about everything that was happening.  In my mind we were still on our way for a vacation to Bear Lake and this was just a pit stop along the way.  I couldn't have been more wrong.  So after the nurse did the doctor's job and told me what was wrong and what our options were we settled down and tried to sleep.  I am sure I didn't sleep a wink just wondering when Ashton would make it back (at this point I told him to get on a plane first thing in the morning and get here as quick as he could).  I was wondering what kind of cancer did he have?  Did he have the good kind that the nurse was talking about?  I sent out a mass text to all my friends and family asking for prayers for Chase, while tears were streaming down my face.  I laid in that hospital bed with my son just wondering why?  Why did this all happen?  That was the beginning of a long life of worry and wonder.

Chase was diagnosed 14 months ago.  The first 6-7 months were hell.  I hated every minute of it.  Chase wasn't too pleased either.  We had to drive weekly to Primary Children's.  5 hours up and 5 hours back.  A lot of those trips he was fasting and that made it even harder.  He has endured more than any child should ever have to.  He is a three yr old that knows medical terms and knows that we wash our hands multiple times a day.  He knows what germs are and that anywhere but our house is filled with them.  We tell him in any public place "don't touch anything!"  So now when we walk into a public place (which he didn't do for at least 7 months) and I say, "Chase, what do we touch?"  He says back to me, "anything."  So cute, but so sad.  He is missing out on a big part of his childhood.  One that he can not get back.  But I hate to always be so negative because we have had so many blessing come to our family.  Just about a month into treatment we were blessed with another little baby boy.  He brought joy to our home that was very much needed.  We have been touched by so many lives.  There are good people in this world.  You only hear about the bad ones.  But I really do believe that the good out weigh the bad.  I saw it first hand.  So many people have reached out and helped our family.

Chase is still in treatment.  His official diagnosis is pre-B Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.  He is now in maintenance and instead of weekly chemo at Primary's he only has monthly IV chemo.  We do two months here and then one month up north.  It has been a nice break to not have to drive every week.  He takes daily chemo and other medications at home.  He will continue to do this routine every day until Oct. of 2013.  He has poison running through his blood a good portion of his childhood.  He is so young he doesn't even know what cancer is.  He doesn't even understand what death is.  He doesn't realize how lucky he is to still be alive.  I look at him every day and thank my Heavenly Father for keeping him here with me.  I love this little boy to pieces and along with all the other little fighters out there he is the toughest kid I know.  I LOVE YOU CHASE!!!

To read more about Chase and follow along with his progress you can visit his http://princehappyfamily.blogspot.com

Skyler

We are going to start spotlighting some of our cancer fighting cuties on the blog.  Each of them have a unique story, experience and lessons to teach us.  We will be posting at least one story a week so keep checking back for more great stories on these amazing cancer fighting cuties!

I wanted to start with Skyler's story.  Skyler is a very special boy who will forever hold a special place in my heart.  I was introduced to his mom, Crystal, a few days after he was diagnosed.  Cami was only about a month into treatment and I wanted so badly to help them, but instead Crystal and Skyler helped me and taught me more than I ever could have done for them...

Skyler's story:

Written by his mom, Crystal

Skyler was diagnosed with Pre-B cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia on August 17th 2010 at the age of four.  A couple weeks prior to diagnosis he was having fevers, puffy eyes, and unexplained bruising all over and around his eyes.  I took him to InstaCare and they just wrote it off as allergies and gave him an antibiotic, but instead of getting better he got worse.  He couldnt walk and wanted to be carried everywhere.  The last straw was when his belly started get really big and swollen.  I took him to his pediatrician who only felt his belly for a minute before he got a worried look on his face and sent us up to PCMC, his liver and spleen were very enlarged.  He said somebody would be waiting for us at the ER.  I knew right then something wasnt right and my uneasy feeling over the past couple of weeks became reality when they told me "Your son has cancer."  My heart sank and my world stopped but as I took one look at his limp, swollen, bruised body I knew it was true.  We were admitted that night to the oncology unit.  Walking into ICS is something I will never forget as I looked around at the bald little kids playing.  This was real, my son was now one of those kids.   The next day we found out which type of Leukemia he had (ALL) and Skyler went in for surgery to place a port in his chest so they could pump poison directly into his heart.  We were told that we would be inpatient for about six days and then would be able to go home and do his chemotherapy treatments outpatient for the next three and a half years.  Those six days turned into four and a half months in the hospital, three of those months were spent in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit on life support.  

Everything that could go wrong did. That first week Skyler developed Tumor Lysis which completely shut down his kidneys putting him into renal failure.  They quickly placed a dialysis catheter and started him on dialysis.  That first week he gained over ten pounds of fluid from his kidneys not working.  He got so big to the point where he couldnt move and developed a bad wound on his bum that he eventually had to have a would vac to close and numerous times having a surgeon scrape out.  It took over 7 months to heal.  Skyler also developed an invasive fungal infection that started out in his sinuses.  He went in for numerous surgeries to try and scrape them out but the surgeon eventually stopped saying there was nothing more he could do for him.  If he took anymore out it would leave Skylers face completely disfigured.  The fungal infection quickly spread throughout his body leading to failure of five of his organ systems.  His lungs were so full of fluid that he stopped being able to breath for himself and they put him on a ventiltor and had a machine breath for him.  He was completely sedated for the six weeks that he was intubated.  They also had to place six different chest tubes to drain fluid and air that were in his lungs.  They also placed drains in his belly to drain fluid from there also.  Skyler also had a problem keeping his hematocrit and his platelets up leading to well over 100 platelet and blood transfusions.  They eventually removed his spleen because it had quit doing its job and they thought thats what was eating up all his platelets.  He was also in isolation alot of the time due to all of his infections he developed, meaning the staff had to put gowns and masks and gloves on before entering the room.  He also had to have 5 different dialysis catheters placed in his neck and chest because they either got infected or just stopped working.  At one point I counted 17 different tubes and lines pumping stuff into and sucking stuff out of him.  He was covered head to toe with tubes.  It was a very noisy room full of pumps and machines that were keeping Skyler alive. When one of your organs goes into failure it decreases your chance of survival, so with five of Skylers organs that were failing it decreased his chance of survival by alot and we were told at one point that he wasnt going to make it, that we were going to have to say goodbye.  I remember sitting on the bed holding his warm little foot crying and thinking how in the world was I supposed to say goodbye to the one person that I loved more than anything in the whole world.  How could I say goodbye to the most precious, perfect little innocent boy that was my flesh and blood?  Skyler did what he does best though and surprised everyone, he held on.  He's a fighter, a miracle.  Slowly but surely I was able to see my son come back from the brink of death. I got to experience seeing my son opening his eyes for the first time after so long without seeing them.  I got to experience hearing his first words (which were I want my mommy) for the first time again after months of longing to hear his sweet voice.  I also got to hold him in my arms again after months of only being able to hold his hand or give him a kiss.  I got to experience his first drink, sitting up, standing up and taking his first steps.  

These were things I will never forget and things I will never take for granted again.  Skyler taught me what a real superhero really is because he is one.  He taught me to never take the little things for granted because you never know when they might be the last.  After one long hard painful year Skyler was finally able to hit maintanence, the phase of treatment that he will be in for the next three years.  When he is finally able to be done with treatment he will have gone through over fours years of getting poison pumped through his little body.  Life will be forever different for him because he will have to be on meds for the rest of his life because of his spleen being removed, he will also have to wear hearing aids because one of the antiotics he was on caused him to lose hearing in both ears.  Even though this cancer journey has been hard and I have seen alot of bad, I have also seen alot of good.  There are so many good people in this world that have helped us get to this point and I will be forever grateful.  Cancer changes everything.  I am a differentperson because of it, but I believe I have changed for the better.  Cancer has taught me to love more and enjoy life. 

 Thank you Crystal for sharing Skylers inspiring and amazing story.  You are both amazing!  

To read more about Skyler you can visit his blog.

crystalandskyler.blogspot.com