Isaiah Rittichier is an eight-year-old from Blackford County, Indiana. He has always liked to be busy: fishing, riding bikes, hiking, catching fireflies, digging for worms while hoping to uncover dinosaur bones! He loves people and is always looking for a crowd.
Isaiah’s active and social life came to a stop in January of 2018. He and his siblings had cold-like symptoms. They all recovered, but Isaiah worsened. A chest x-ray revealed a horrifying picture of a mass covering all of one lung and most of the other. A CT scan showed fluid around his heart and lungs.
Isaiah was rushed by ambulance to Riley ER and quickly moved to PICU. He was assisted by a breathing machine and put on constant dialysis for days as they awaited the steroids to dissolve the weight off his chest. A biopsy confirmed he was fighting T-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.
Physical and Occupational Therapists at Riley’s helped him regain strength and coordination with games and bike rides through Riley hallways. Child Life Specialists used crafts to help Isaiah understand his cancer, and candy to learn how to swallow pills. To take away the fear of syringes, he was given empty ones to fill with paint and create art. Isaiah was released after six weeks to go home and redefine his life while on chemo. There have been many hospitalizations and blood transfusions but as Isaiah says, “Whatever it takes!”
Isaiah’s current treatment plan requires daily chemo pills and visits Riley Clinic once a month for procedures until May of 2021. He loves the days he goes to Riley and dresses his best in hopes of being mistaken as a doctor;) Isaiah is homeschooled and loves math. He now enjoys Legos and playing games with family. Each day they are thankful for the care, prayers, and support given.
These pictures show the beginning of our Riley story and the most recent visit. Many good and bad memories have come over the past fifteen months. I plan to fill in the gaps and keep you current as we continue the fight. Please notice Isaiah's bling on the latter pic! This is his souvenir from Promingdales put on by Women For Riley. We are having a great time getting ready for FAMILY PROM! In two weeks, we'll have some fancy photos to share;)
(
https://www.caringbridge.org/assets/ugc/4y/8/2y/5cbb4683431f318f508b4962.png)"Whatever it takes!" (
https://www.caringbridge.org/assets/ugc/4y/8/2y/5cbb47b103902307038b4903.jpg)Stronger
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Sahara after her Day Spa treatment.
Capturing the tattoos before they wash away.
Happy together!
Dance, dance, dance!
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