Danny woke up on June 27th, 2012 with a strong pain in his lower right abdomen … strong enough that he was taken straight to the ER. At first, we thought it was appendicitis (not the case). Blood tests showed elevated white cell counts and low platelets; subsequent tests had his primary physician talking to pediatric oncologists in Columbia Presbyterian in NYC. Less than 12 hours after he said his side hurt, we were checking into the Columbia Children's hospital.
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The diagnosis is Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. This was caught relatively early, and the prognosis - assuming no curveballs from genetic factors or infections - is excellent (survival rate of 90%). These are among the best doctors in the world, and my son is a fighter. He’s strong, brave, and worthy of his name. I’ve never been prouder.
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The chemotherapy has been intense; over the past 9 months, Danny has been hospitalized 6 times, almost died three times, experienced blood clots in his heart and lungs, and undergone four major surgeries to save his leg after an infection. The entire program extends for 26 months.
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Donations should go to the Leukemia Lymphoma Society (http://www.lls.org) for cancer research or - to directly support our family - GiveForward (http://www.giveforward.com/unschaikable).
