Why am I shaving my head with St. Baldrick’s?
Most of you who know my family and I are aware of the devastating news we received back in April 2022. My four year old son, Cyrus was taken to the ER Friday(4/15) with leg pain and other symptoms which came on pretty quick, and by Saturday the doctors had come to us with the diagnosis of him having Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. The following Monday he had a port placed, spinal tap, bone marrow biopsy, and first round chemo.
His hospital care team has been God sent. The support from friends and family made the many tough and hectic days possible to get through. The most humbling was the love and support given from every level of my OFD family. The Brother and Sisterhood is still very much alive in the fire service.
Cyrus just hit a milestone on January 12th and finished his last frontline chemo treatment. At this point, I cannot even count the number of port accesses, spinal taps, IV chemos, oral steroids (which smell like gasoline), and antibiotics that this boy takes like a champ. He has become my personal example of tenacity. He inspires me with his unrelenting determination to power through each procedure, treatment, and medication just so he can be home and play. The prognosis is good but he still has a year and half of treatment to get through. Childhood cancer research is the only way we can help prevent another family from living the nightmare of having a child diagnosed with cancer.
