I told you about a month ago about Addison, the 5 year old little boy who was diagnosed early last month with Leukemia. He is the son of a good friend of my daughter, Joanna. You can click on the Help Addison Kick This Thing! button on the sidebar if you didn't see that story. A few of you have asked about him and many have offered prayers and good thoughts so I wanted to provide a short update on the first month of his fight against his "bad guys", partly in his mother's words.
FIRST MONTH of treatment is almost over! (Called INDUCTION PHASE, fondly referred to as HELL) Only 35 more months to go of chemo, we can DO IT!!!
Hard day, Addison was in the bathroom and he was pulling his hair
out in clumps so we knew it was time.
He spent the day with his little warm fuzzy hat just being really mellow.
Addison' Dad, and a few of his friends have shaved their heads in support of Addison.
Like son, like father
There have been a lot of side effects of the steriods he is required to take.
Its so weird to see his body change so much too. His face is so swollen, his belly totally distended. I am so sad at how much he sleeps. I miss the little one who used to swim laps every day no problem and bike everywhere. Now he is tired walking up the stairs. He is up for an hour or 2 and then sleeps 3. BUT, I have to remember, he will probably be CURED someday.
Addison is facing 3 years of treatment, but the chances are excellent that he will be cured. The family has gotten a great deal of support from friends and from their community. There are over 700 members on the Facebook page my daughter started and there is a fundraising event planned for May 15. Addison, his mom and his sister all work as actors and models and many from that community are donating their time and talent for the fundraiser.
Thank you to those of you who have offered good wishes and prayers for this brave little boy and I will just ask again that you please say a prayer, light a candle, send your best wishes to Addison and his family.
My family never had to deal with a catastrophic illness like this, but I'm always stunned at how friends and family - even strangers in the blogging world - rally round and fight when faced with it. It's a sight to behold (or read about). Thanks for sharing this story, Jeanie, and the update, with us. I won't be shaving my head in support, but I certainly will be with them in spirit.
ReplyDeleteI now totally understand this disease. A friend of mine who had her ovaries removed to hopefully stave off breast cancer, got breast cancer. She had her breasts removed and went throught chemo and radiation. The cancer came back into her lymph system. She had her nodes removed and went through more chemo. Seven weeks ago she was diagnosed with chemo induced leukemia and was just released from the hospital. She is going through the same thing as Addison and will soon be getting a bone marrow transplant. Good luck to Addison. My thoughts are with him and his family.
ReplyDeleteThe father son photo is wonderful. Shaving dad's hair so they are alike is a love thing. Thank you for sharing this with us in your blog.
ReplyDeleteit is so wonderful that people are reaching out
ReplyDeletethe web connections can be so amazing at a time like this
that is such a great picture of him and his dad (o:
I tell you what....I can't even imagine....so I will just pray
I missed this story Jeanie, but am deeply moved by it. The photos make it so moving and I can feel the love of father and son from looking at their photo. I thank you for sharing this with the world.
ReplyDeletePoor wee boy.. I hope the three years go fast and he is totally cured.
ReplyDeleteOh, I am so sorry. He is just a radiant child. I will certainly help as much as I can with the fund-raising efforts!
ReplyDeleteBless you for spreading the word.
You're a wonderful person to get the word out on Addison. What an adorable kid! Sending positive vibes his way...
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely he is on my heart and in my prayers. He looks like a wonderful boy. Kudos to Dad.
ReplyDeleteGod bless you for gettin' the word out.
Have a beautiful day!!!
Addison's story touches my heart, Jeanie. What a brave little boy.
ReplyDelete