My sis just called me to tell me her 3 yo son has leukemia. This is the third time her family has had to deal with cancer: first she had Hodgkin's Lymphoma (in remission), then last Thanksgiving their beloved dog was diagnosed with an extremely aggressive lymphoma and died right before Christmas, and now her son. Last week she said she was concerned about him having some swollen lymph nodes and more bruises than normal, but was trying to convince herself she was just being paranoid because of her history. She took him to the doctor today, and the doc didn't seem overly concerned, but ordered bloodwork. They called her this afternoon and told her to take him to the hospital to be admitted today because he has leukemia. They will be doing a bone marrow biopsy tomorrow to confim it and determine what type, and will start treatment right away. They told her he will be in the hospital for 7-10 days, for now.
I feel so terrible; she asked me if I would come out right away to help take care of the 18 month-old while she's at the hospital, and I had to tell her I couldn't, because I have this damn wedding cake next week that I knew somehow I was going to regret taking (I usually don't book any in December, but I had done her sister's before). I just feel so guilty I can't be there for her (I'm in KY; she's in Phoenix), but I don't have anyone who could take over for me. She's wondering whether she should stay at the children's hopital there, or go to St. Jude in Memphis. I just can't believe this has happend to her family again....
Don't give up hope.
My family has been full of cancer and have all beaten it. One of my cousins was 17 and got leukemia the summer before his senior year. Did all the treatments, found a bone marrow match and did a transfer, and he's out of college and cancer free for 7 years now.
You will be in my thoughts.
Michelle
Oh my gosh.. that is terrible. I can't imagine going through that. Isn't there a baker in your area you could pass the cake off to? I'm sure the bride would understand. Your sister is going to be so stressed out, I can't imagine having to take care of an 18month old and take care of the 3 yr old at the same time. He'll need all of her attention. I have a 5, 3 and 18 month old myself.. so I reeeealllly cannot imagine how upset she must be right now. I'll keep you all in my thoughts, I hope you'll have a chance to keep us updated.
No, while I know of a couple of other decorators, I don't actually know them and with this particular order I wouldn't feel comfortable passing it off as it has several custom elements. My parents are retired and can easily drop everything to go out and help; my sister would just rather have me and was planning on waiting until they knew more before telling them, but she made the mistake of telling our brother, who called them right away. My mother tends to get hysterical at times, and gets on my sister's nerves. But now that they know I'm sure they'll go out there right away. At least I only have one other wedding on my calendar, and that's not til May, and I won't be booking any more. I just wish they didn't live so far away...
I'm hoping that it will turn out to be a good thing that my sister had cancer before, so that she was able to recognize the signs right away and hopefully it's been caught much earlier than normal.
Love and ((((((HUGS))))))!
I'll be thinking of the little guy. Poor guy. I could barely handle it when my 2 year old had his adnoids out. Your sister is a strong woman. Bless her soul.
So sorry to hear the news. I will keep him and your family in my prayers. I hear such good things about St. Jude. Just yesterday on the View Marlow Thomas said she is saying good-bye to children going home that were not given any hope and was suppose to die within months. There is hope.
Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers....
A bit of an update: they did the bone marrow biopsy today and the oncologist said he is fairly certain it is acute lymphoblastic leukemia, which is the most common in young children, and has the highest remission rate. So that's some hopeful news. The pathologist still has to confirm it though, and they have to determine which sub-type of ALL it is; some types have a better prognosis than others. He will be having surger tomorrow to place a catheter for the chemo and will have his first treatment either tomorrow or Monday. Our mother is flying out Monday morning to help with the baby.
Funny thing is, Sean is having a ball! He was a little annoyed about having to go to the hospital since he didn't feel sick at all, and was kind of bored last night, but they have a really nice playroom he got to go to today, and had a visit by a therapy dog. He thinks his IV is the coolest thing in the world and says he has a "robot arm". My sis was trying to explain stuff to him, and he's like "yeah, whatever, okay, can I go back to playing now?" He's not scared in the least. It's just all one big adventure for him so far; it's alot harder for his 12 yo sis who went thru this all before with their mom before he was born. I'm hoping that the fact he never felt sick or had other symptoms means they caught it very early.
I'm still trying to figure out when I'm going out there. The air fares are so high, the only week that's is affordable is Christmas, and I hate to be away from home on Christmas, which is also my son's b'day, and my husband doesn't want to go (because there's so little room at their place, and it's so messy). I guess I'll just get thru this week and past this wedding, and then see what's going on and what my sister needs me to do...
a majority of the charity events we do is for st judes and make a wish foundation. st judes has a success rate that is on the high side of 90%!!!
they are a fabulous hospital, and don't charge a single dime. i believe your doctor can refer you on to there...
god bless.
I'm so sorry to hear about your nephew. My younger brother was diagnosed with ALL (acute lymphoblastic leukemia) when he was 2-1/2 years old. This was 21 years ago and they've made some major advancements in treating this form of leukemia in children since then and it is now normally a very curable form of this cancer. I'll keep your family in my prayers. ((((Hugs)))))
My thoughts and prayers go out to Sean, your sister and all of you and your family.
It just saddens my heart anytime I hear of someone being sick, but it's so much harder on my heart when it is a child. I pray for the good Lord to place his healing hands on Sean and for the angels to be all around him to keep him safe.
God Bless,
Sharon
Poor little guy..... my very best wishes to him and his family. How very difficult.... 
Jen
I thought I'd give another update...
My nephew spent about a week at Phoenix Children's hospital (which seems like a very good hospital), where he got to meet Marley from the movie "Marley & Me", so that was cool. He had a portacath put in to administer the chemo and has had at least 3 round of chemo both in the port and in his spinal fluid. He had bloodwork, bone marrow, and spinal tap again on Monday and is responding very well to the chemo, which is very good sign of a good prognosis. He still feels fine and is enjoying all the extra attention and gifts from everyone, LOL! But his little sister is helping to keep him grounded by continuing to fight with him, take things away, etc. A funny note, my sis found that the heavy sedation used for the bone marrow and spinal tap works like a truth serum and she can get him to fess up to things he'd done, but denied earlier, LOL.
It was hard on my sister when he came home, because she had to clean the house thoroughly and throw out all their food and start fresh because they have to be very, very careful about exposing him to germs and fungus because he has NO immune system right now. He can't even eat alot of fresh fruits like berries and grapes because of the traces of mold found on them. He also won't be allowed to travel for a long time, so they will be able to visit anymore. I think things are starting to settle down a little bit, but their lives are all changed and they will have a new definition of normal from now on. I just hate they will be dealing with this for years, and even if he's pronounced "cured", it will always be in the back of their minds, along with his mom's lymphoma. I can't imagine having to always worry about it coming back...
I just read this post! Boy, what a shock. I am praying for your sister and family (and for you too as this is obvioulsy stressful for you as well). I am glad to hear that things are moving along with his treatments. I hope and pray it will go into remission soon and this will be just a memory in the past.
Best wishes
Susan
Sean is still doing well. He has had several chemo treatments already, and is responding very well, so his prognosis is very good. The hardest thing is having to stay home a lot more when they are used to being on the go all the time (he has practically no immunity right now, so has to avoid crowds and restaurant food), but my sister has lost 6 pounds since they are eating at home more, and eating healthier. Sean still feels fine, though his hair had started falling out, so he decided to go ahead and shave it all off. He does want it to grow back, but he's okay with being bald for now, just like his Grandpa and uncle, LOL! So far none of this has seemed to phase him a bit, so that makes it easier for everyone else around him to deal with it, too.
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