Benjamin’s Story

Site created on November 25, 2019

Welcome to our CaringBridge website. We are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place. We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. Thank you for visiting.


On Sunday, November 17, 2019, we brought Benjamin to Nemours A.I. DuPont Hospital ER with a high fever and belly pains.  He was admitted that night because of very concerning blood-work, and on Thursday, November 21, 2019, after a bone marrow biopsy, our little Benny was diagnosed with B-Lymphoblastic Leukemia. This is a type of cancer affecting his blood, particularly his white blood cells.


He is under the best care with the best doctors and nurses, and although we are still very scared and nervous about the future, we have a lot of hope for Benny.  Please keep our whole family in your prayers during this time.   We are incredibly grateful for the continued support from our family, friends, and loved ones.

Newest Update

Journal entry by KELLY PIN

Ben's journey with treatment is finally coming to a close on February 21st when he will take his final doses of oral chemo at home!!!

Local friends: Mark your calendars to attend a "Beep for Benny" on 2/21 where you can drive through our neighborhood any time from 9:30 AM to 10 AM to beep and shout out congratulations for Ben. It'll be like Spring of 2020 all over again when parading in your car was the "new norm".😉 Here's our address: 4 Poppy Lane Kennett Square, PA 19348

Not local, but still want to congratulate Ben? Check out the below message, and consider taking part in making a short video clip for our little dude using Flipgrid!

 
Here are some prompts that could help you -- You may wish to begin with your name then add one or more of the following - or just ad lib!
1.  Best memory of Benny
2.  Best "future" memory of Benny
3.  What do you think Benjamin will be doing eleven years from now (he will be getting ready for his 16th birthday on March 16, 2033)?
4.  What is your best advice for him so he can live the best version of himself for the rest of his life?
5.  How has Benjamin's cancer journey impacted you and your life?
 
Just click on this link and record yourself!
 
You will have a chance to edit and re-record as many times as you wish.  You can play around with borders and backgrounds if you wish.  Once you submit, the clip will come to me and I will be able to post it into this Flipgrid.  
Here's the link again:  https://flipgrid.com/8685e01b
 
If you run into problems, call Gina Pin:  203-297-0054 or drop her an email at ginastenzapin@gmail.com.
PLEASE SHARE THE LINK WITH ANYONE WHO WISHES TO CONTRIBUTE A MEMORY OR SHOUT OUT OF CONGRATULATIONS!!


Finally, if anyone in the area would like to celebrate the 7:30 am daily mass with us at St. Patrick's in Kennett Square on 2/21 to give thanks to God for His provision over Ben during this treatment phase (with adoration to follow), we'd love to see you there!

*Some pictures are attached of his FINAL lumbar puncture from January 24th. Ben also completed his final steroid pulse that same week. We are so grateful to have closed the chapter on these treatments.


**I will take another post to explain more, but at this point I do want to articulate that Ben's ANCs are still very low, so low in fact that he is almost considered "neutropenic". With that said, we are asking for prayers that his ANCs start to come up slowly but surely upon finishing chemo. We also wanted to state this so you understand where we are coming from regarding the social distanced congratulations events/ideas. It has been a very difficult year where we had to continue saying no to so many things for Ben's sake. If you thought I was a mama bear prior to Ben's diagnosis, I've only become more fierce. *hehe* We are looking forward to LIVING life a lot more as Ben's immune system begins to heal.

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