"Warrior Luke"

 The lives of our family were forever changed on December 12, 2008.  What started as a visit to our pediatrician for a suspicious lump in Luke's upper thigh, turned into an early morning appointment with surgeons, specialists, an ultrasound, MRI, and ultimately, a cancer diagnosis. Luke was diagnosed with stage 4 Embryonal Rhabdomyosarcoma (ERMS), a rare and aggressive pediatric cancer. Amazingly, Rhabdo accounts for only 4% of all pediatric cancers.

Since then, Luke has fought EVERY SINGLE DAY to beat cancer. He has never said 'no'. He has carried on with hope, joy, laughter, and tenacity uncommon in someone so young. And, we are so blessed and proud to say that he is winning the battle. After just 6 weeks the tumor shrunk 75.3%. After 19 weeks, it had shrunk another 18% and the lung mets were no longer active. On

October 26, 2009 we got the news that LUKE IS CANCER FREE! His lungs looked totally normal and the primary tumor was GONE. This is indeed a miracle, the result of the healing power of prayer and modern medicine. Luke continues to be scanned and monitored for any relapse in the cancer.

For the last year, Luke has endured countless chemo treatments, 5 hospital stays for bacterial infections, 8 transfusions, breathing treatments, blood draws, pokes, X-rays, tests, and the biggest hurdle of all, 6 weeks of radiation which required daily sedation. Words can not describe the physical and emotional wear this all places on a family.

Cancer impacts the entire family, not just the patient. Luke is a proud big brother to Connor, who is 21 months old. This past year has been hard on Connor, too. He has been shuffled around to daycare, grandma’s, and various friends’ houses with really no routine or schedule. Thankfully, he has persevered too. We are blessed that he is so flexible, happy, loving, kind, and snuggly. Connor’s easy going spirit has made this past year a little more bearable for the rest of us.