James is a charming, playful little boy. He has the most amazing dimpled smile which lights up the world. He loves life and played his way through treatment. He was only two years old when he was diagnosed with cancer. There were many days when he was playing in the hospital hallways while getting chemo dispensed from an IV.
Just like many little boys, he loves speed. He loves to ride his bicycle. He peddles as fast as he can and does not like to be told to slow down. He likes playing with Hot Wheels cars and tracks. He likes Thomas the Train and Toystory. He likes playing in his sandbox and going down slides. He loves playing Mario Kart on wii and playing Angry Birds Star Wars. He enjoys making messes and eating chocolate ice cream cones. His favorite possession in the whole world is his "special blankie.". He doesn't go anywhere without it and it gives him comfort through all of life's boo boos.
James only has a few dislikes. He is not fond of vegetables, especially broccoli. He doesn't like it when his sister won't let him play with her and her friends. He got really mad once when she went to a sleep-over and told him he couldn't go because he was a boy. He wanted me to make him a girl disguise so he could sneak into the sleep-over girl party. I told him he was too short to pass for a 12 year old girl even if I made him a disguise. He told me that I was not his friend for a few days after he couldn't go to the sleep-over with his sister. He is really an easygoing little boy who takes things in stride without too much fuss. The things he hates most are needles. He needs to get blood drawn every 6 months to make sure he is still in remission and he hates it. He begs me and the nurses not to stick him with the needle and as his mom it breaks my heart that he is so afraid. He is very brave and never struggles or fights even though he hates it. He just cries a bit when it hurts. Even though he was 2, he remembers things about his cancer treatment. He hates IV poles. The IV pole was too big for him to push by himself and made it impossible for him to run and play. When he sees an IV pole he begins to cry. He gets so sad and says that he doesn't want it. As his mom I know that it is more than just him knowing he can't play. I believe he knows how bad the chemo made him feel. We always called his chemo "Get better forever medicine", in hopes he would understand why he needed it. He is a brave boy and makes me very proud as his mom.
Thank you so much for supporting St Baldricks. The contributions will be used to make a difference for kids like James. Childhood cancer research is seriously underfunded. Even though 600 kids each day are diagnosed and 200 others lose their battle each day, it is considered rare. Better treatments, more research funding and larger clinical trials are desperately needed to stop childhood cancer. Thank you for making a difference. Thank you for helping James fight!
