Thank you for supporting me and the more than 300,000 kids worldwide who will be diagnosed with cancer this year. By sharing the gifts of your time, talent and money with the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, you're supporting research to give all kids with cancer a better chance for a cure.
In February 2022, I had a sudden onset of excruciating back pain. I could barely walk and my quality of life was declining. I thought it was at 1st a severely pulled muscle or possibly a pinched nerve or maybe even a bulging disc, but after multiple ER visits, a chiropractor visit, x-rays and ultimately a referral to an orthopedic doctor, a tumor on my spine was detected on a MRI. At the end of May, I was admitted to Nationwide Children’s Hospital, for an emergency biopsy. That biopsy turned into a major reconstructive spinal surgery. The tumor had eaten away my vertebrae causing 2 of the discs to collapse. So in addition to the biopsy, they inserted rods, screws and a cage between the discs. Immediately after the surgery, the surgeon informed us of the worst case scenario, that the tumor did appear to be a very aggressive form of cancer and prepared us for some bad news to come from the biopsy results. After waiting a few days, which felt like an eternity we were given ”good news”. It was cancer, but not a sarcoma like they originally thought, it was this cancer that we’d never heard of, Langerhans Cell Hystiocytosis (LCH). We were told this is the best case scenario. The next few days were a blur, discussing the next steps. After another more intense PET scan, CT and another MRI, we were told that there was another lesion on my skull. The discussion of just keeping an eye on things, instantly changed to talk of how quickly I would start chemotherapy.. Finding my worth in God during this time has been hard, I don’t look and feel the same so I get down on myself. But I have to remember that I am God's child and He has a plan for me.
