Friday, February 1st, 2019 Ollie was diagnosed B-Cell A.L.L. ... a form of Leukemia. Leslie had taken him to our family pediatrician the day before because of a distended stomach, enlarged lymph nodes, and what appeared to be mild skin irritation. Unfortunately it was something much more than a cold or the flu virus and bloating. He was admitted to Riley Children's hospital the following day and has started aggressive chemotherapy to stay ahead of the challenges that come with this terrible disease. The first 30 days are some of the toughest due to the treatment protocol and the extended clinical maintenance schedule that lasts a brutal 3 years total. The schedule coupled with targeted treatments gives us a probability of success somewhere between 90-95% that the CANCER will go into full remission and stay there for the duration of his life.
Children with Down syndrome are at higher risk to develop this condition, however, perhaps ironically, the mutation they possess from Trisomy many times helps them overcome this disease more efficiently. There is not much more to say right now. We are still absorbing the initial impact (and recovering in our own right) and we have a long way to go. In the days to come we will determine the resources our family needs to fight, our new schedule and how friends and family can help us conquer this misfortune with hope and Ollie's perpetual happiness. We love him and we know you do too ... together we will win ... " It's amazing what can be accomplished if you do not care who gets the credit ... Clarence W. Jones (Missionary) ..." ... Thank you to everyone who has already gone out of there way to be there for us and offer an on-call status from the moment they found out the news ...
Ed & Leslie Walsh
P.S. One final note before we get started ... Ollie's blood type is O-Positive ... please tag your support posts for our guy with the hashtag ... #opositive
