Pike’s Story
Pike had been sick for a couple of weeks - a weird rash (needed to get it checked after camp), loss of appetite (maybe his growth spurt was done, maybe less activity in the hot summer), and couldn’t make it up a hill at camp (checked by the nurse and thought it was the altitude). He started having fever and tested positive for strep but no Covid or flu. When you add it all up, yeah it looks like something major but there was an explanation for all of the minor things.
Pike got a shot for the strep but was even worse the next day and started throwing up. I knew something was really wrong and had the doctor paged. The doctor thought he was having a hard time getting over the strep and would see Pike the first thing the next morning. When he went in the next day we started adding up the symptoms thinking maybe Meningitis or Lyme Disease, never thinking lightning could strike twice. The doctor was stumped so he admitted Pike. I couldn’t be with him because he had to be admitted through the ER and my white blood cells still aren’t 100% after the transplant. Paul was with him and called us after lunch. He asked if we were all there and I knew he had something major to tell us. Philip was randomly home. Thank you Jesus for that mercy because MC and I completely lost it and couldn’t function.
Pike has an aggressive form of Leukemia called ALM. He is very sick and they are matching the aggressiveness of the cancer with a chemo regimen. His white blood cells are completely through the roof which makes it extremely painful and very nauseated. We are completely confident in his care by Dr. Stanton Goldman and his team at Pediatric Oncology with Texas Oncology at Medical City Children’s Hospital.
More updates to come. We are incredibly grateful for the prayers and support once again. “We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.”
2 Corinthians 4:7-9
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Archive from Mica's 2022 journey:
Mica’s Story
Mica's diagnosis: DLBCL DHT: Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma, Double Hit. (who came up with this, a robot??! It's goofy).
What we thought was a lingering pneumonia with fever, turned out to be something else, lymphoma. Whoa. This week we learned that Mica has lymphoma and she has already started her first round of chemo last night (3/25). Even though she is a stage 3, the doctors are confident in the chemo regimen and she is ready for the fight! (I'd be scared if I was this cancer, 'double hit'--bahahahaa, pshaw! whatever, good luck with that. As of today, the first round of chemo has already kicked the severe night sweats (as Dr. Vikas Bhushan promised it would), a big answer to prayer to give Mica some relief.
Mica will be in the hospital every 3 weeks for 5 days for constant (24 x 7) chemo and then home. She will repeat this for 6 months. Dats a lot of drugs. We are with the very best doctor team in the nation at Medical City Dallas, so grateful for that.
More detail if you want:
https://lymphoma.org/aboutlymphoma/nhl/dlbcl/We are ok at the moment, thanks to all who have reached out and especially the TCA community that is coordinating meals already. Here's the link if you want to sign up:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e044fa8a62fabfe3-mealSo humbling. Friends also that are moving MC and Pike around so so appreciate that.
Since she is on the oncology floor, visitors and flowers aren't a thing. She can login to the Caring Bridge and see your well wishes---texts, Facetime and phone calls are also ok, although I am trying to keep that to a minimal level to give her time to rest as she adjusts to the chemo. You get that.
Prayer is what Mica wants most right now. If you feel so inclined, go donate some blood somewheres, no you don't have to specify the donation is for her (although you can). She has already tapped into that bucket and will likely need to do so again. There isn't a blood substitute (yet), so only way is to go make a deposit. ;0
A note on caring bridge, they solicit the users that sign up since they are a .org non profit. Everyone has to pay the bills, just mention that because I wanted to mention if you feel led to contribute, that money goes to Caring Bridge and not to us.
Thanks for all your love and support. You are are welcome to text me, trying to juggle all of those.
So grateful for you~
Mica & Paul
prpetersen.email@gmail.com
972.569.0995 (Paul cell)
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‘So I throw up my hands
And praise You again and again
'Cause all that I have is a hallelujah
Hallelujah
And I know it's not much
But I've nothing else fit for a King
Except for a heart singing hallelujah
Hallelujah…’
-Gratitude, Brandon Lake
The presence of fear does not mean
you have no faith.
Fear visits everyone.
But make your fear a visitor
and not a resident.
-Max Lucado
