Riley’s Story

Site created on December 9, 2020

We took Riley to his Pediatrician in late October 2020, because Riley fell a few weeks before that and got a knot on the back of his head from a fall. It was fall any infant/toddler would have learning how to crawl/walk, so we didn't think too much of it. But the knot just wasn't going away, and we kind of thought it might be growing... of course not wanting to jump to any conclusions we listened to the doctor who set a follow up appointment just to see if it really was growing. Fast forward about 4 weeks, at this point Riley had received sonogram, CT scan and MRI and we still knew nothing about this mass, we are calling it a mass at this point because it was definitely growing. But Riley is still acting like his normal self; smiling, eating, playing, loving life with no signs of what's to come. On 11/23/2020 we went to see a hematology doctor. He also agreed with the other doctors we saw but wanted a blood sample for himself since Riley had not had a full CBC done in a month at this point. Keep in mind the last CBC came back normal. This hematology doctor drew blood and said he would call with the results, so we headed home. 20 minutes later, and not even home yet, we received a call telling us to turn around and come back to Levine Children's Hospital, we were going to be admitted for further tests to see if Riley has Leukemia! Still trying not to jump to conclusions we got to the hospital. More blood was drawn and other tests ran. On 11/24/2020, 2 days before Riley's 1st Thanksgiving and 1 week before his 1st birthday, we were told he has Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). Of course we were in complete shock. And all I could think about was not seeing my child reach milestones in his life; like his first day of school, playing sports, helping his dad fix a truck. The doctors put a treatment plan in effect very quickly though. And we have high hopes of a full recovery so we can see Riley reach every milestone. Now we just work hard and take it day by day for the next 2 - 3 years. 

Newest Update

April 23, 2021

Journal entry by Gena Welch —

Hello all! I am so sorry for not updating this page as much as you all deserve. We have been very busy with Riley's treatment though. Most recently Riley was admitted to Levine's Children's Hospital the past 2 weekends for high doses of chemo. He did well both times! However, he has developed mouth sores from this chemo, which is a very common side effect. My sweet baby hasn't wanted to eat or drink much the past few days and we had to take him to the doctor on Wednesday so he could receive IV fluids, we were worried he was getting dehydrated. Since then he has gotten better, with the help of pain medicine and tips the nurses gave us on how to keep him hydrated at home. We were scheduled to return to the hospital today for a different type of chemo but that has been put on hold until Riley recovers and feels better. When he is able to get this chemo though we will be in the hospital for 3-6 weeks. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as Riley heals and as we approach this long hospital stay. 
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