Welcome to our CaringBridge website. We are using this website to document Connor's journey and as a way to keep family and friends updated in one place. We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. Thank you for visiting.
Connor's journey began with us just assuming he had injured his leg during baseball. During August he hurt his leg during baseball camp, but we thought he just pulled a muscle. Connor would complain once in awhile about his leg but it wasn't until the end of September that it got a lot worse. Connor again was playing baseball and had a double header. During his first game we noticed that he was limping and in between games we checked out his leg and it hurt to the touch. We took him to the pediatrician the next day and they also said it was just a sport injury since his leg was swollen and suggested physical therapy. Connor completed physical therapy for 4 weeks and since we saw little improvement in his leg, we called the pediatrician again and they suggested that we go see an orthopedist.
We went to the orthopedist on November 13th where I thought we would just find out there was a fracture or something that could easily be fixed. At the orthopedist, Connor had an xray done that showed a bump on the bone. The orthopedist also ordered an MRI and blood work. Now many of you may know that Connor is rarely sick, so this was all new to him. Therefore getting blood work and an MRI was very scary to him and it was emotional for all of us, but we made it through both procedures. The MRI ended up showing a growth on his right femur bone, therefore we were sent to an orthopedic and bone specialist. It was here at his office on November 17th that we received the news we never thought we would here that the scans showed a tumor on his bone and it was most likely cancerous. The orthopedic specialist had an appointment set up with the oncologist within 20 min of us leaving his office. Bo and I were the only ones in the room to hear this so for 3 days we kept to to ourselves, trying to process how this was possible.
We told Connor the news I never thought i would have to tell my son on November 20th and then on November 21st we met with the oncologist. I have to say that his oncologist and the staff they have at Upstate's Center for Children's Cancer and Hematology is absolutely amazing. After meeting with his oncologist, even though it was so emotional having to talk about our son having cancer, we finally felt somewhat relieved because we knew our son was in good hands. Upstate has so many resources it is unbelievable, they have social workers, educational specialists, child life specialists, etc.
The next step was one of the most emotional days, Connor's biopsy. Connor is very fearful of surgery and hospitals and it broke our hearts the way he freaked out about having this biopsy done, the only way we got through it was that we knew that we would have an answer after that. Connor made it through the biopsy and we were able to have a quiet Thanksgiving and try to forget about the road ahead of us.
On November 27th the doctor received his biopsy results and Connor was diagnosed with osteosarcoma. This is a curable and treatable cancer but it does involve chemotherapy and surgery to remove the tumor and part of the bone. On November 28th, Connor had surgery to put in a port. Again, this was a very emotional day, we thought he would be a little bit better with surgery but his anxiety was so high. With the help of the staff at Upstate Surgery Center (who we can't say enough about), Connor got his port put in. The day after Connor got his port put in, he had a bone scan and a CT Scan. Both of these scans were clean which we were all relieved about.
Connor's treatment for osteosarcoma will consist of 11 weeks of chem, followed by surgery to remove the tumor. The orthopedist and bone specialist will decide how much of the bone will have to be removed and what type of prosthetic will replace the bone. After the surgery Connor will have rehab plus more chemo which is all dependent on how his body reacts to the first round of chemo.
This is going to be a long journey for Connor, Bo and I, but we have faith and know he will get through this. We are overwhelmed by the support of the staff at Upstate and know that he is in the right hands.
At this time we don't even know what we need, we are still trying to process this all so we ask for your prayers and support. I know that we are blessed to have amazing friends and family so as we go through this journey we will let you all know what it is that we need.
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