Faces of Cancer

Caleb has been in crisis off and on the past two weeks.  He's feeling much better at this moment, because his fever has broken, & doctors now have his red blood cell count under control.  There's nothing ANYONE can do to help bring Caleb's white blood cell count up.  His body & bone marrow have to do that all on their own.  He has zeroed-out in that department.  That means he will literally live in a bubble, until he has "safe levels", because it would be very difficult for his body to fight an infection.  We're leaning on God to help with this one.

We face so many thoughts & emotions, as we look back exactly one year ago, when our 6-year old Caleb was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia.  One thing we've all counted on the past year is Caleb's extraordinary strength! 

When Caleb was a toddler, we nicknamed him "Tank" & "Bam-Bam", because he was so rough & tough.  He was unusually strong.  We never realized then how that would come into play & be so necessary, later in his little life.  We thank God everyday for his strength. 

August 2013.  Caleb's first Kindergarten event, to meet his teacher.  He looked like the picture of health, but his legs were so weak, he always wanted to sit down.  We didn't know why.

On Caleb's first day of Kindergarten, he thought it was a good idea to take his school pictures lying down.  We, nor his doctors at that point, could figure out why he didn't want to walk.  

A few weeks later, on Friday, September 13, 2013, our lives changed forever.  An Oncologist, I had known and interviewed countless times the past decade through my medical reporting, walked into Caleb’s hospital room with tears in her eyes.  I knew before she ever said a word that he had cancer.

Only a few weeks later, our Caleb was transformed through an extraordinary amount of steroids.  We considered it a blessing to be able to kiss his wonderful, soft cheeks. He is, and always will be, our Superman.

Courage the Lion & Elvis the Lion added new smiles and helped fuel even more courage on the hard days.

By November, Caleb felt so rotten, he completely lost his appetite, and we finally understood how those reserves from the steroids were so important.  
  

By spring, everything seemed to be blooming, except for Caleb's light brown locks.  "At home chemotherapy" became a way of life for us all.  It was just part of our nightly routine and eventually felt as normal as reading a bedtime story. 

Caleb handled life without hair with dignity.  He preferred to wear caps most of the time, but we loved "all natural" moments, when hair was the last thing on any of our minds. 

"Hero the Lion" often came to the rescue.  Caleb seldom got to leave our home the past year, except for hospital visits.  On most days, he accepted this without complaints, but every once in a while - "cancer" was written all over his face. 

Not for long, though!  This is the perfect example of Caleb's strength.  Even though this was a rough day at the cancer center, Cal was still able to conjure up a smile.  Courage the Lion has always been there, lending a comfortable, silent message of Deuteronomy 31:6 to remain strong and courageous.

Sept. 2014.  One year later, the first day of First grade for Caleb brought renewed hope and was one of the happiest days of our lives.  He felt great.  We loved the surprise of his new platinum blonde, curly hair.

Last week, we faced the second scare of our lives with him, when doctors had to search Caleb's blood for "blasts" or leukemia cells, because of his abnormal results. We feared a recurrence, which would be devastating.  God prevailed.  His cancer has NOT made a comeback.  His chemo is keeping it suppressed. 

We got the next big scare a few days later (this week), with Caleb's first hospitalization (admission), since his diagnosis.  A high fever prompted it all, along with bone marrow suppression.  Another blood transfusion and now we watch & wait for hopeful results that his levels will soon rise.

Caleb has already missed several weeks of school, but his wonderful teacher is working hard to send all of his homework home to us, plus a bonus - his loving home school teacher from last year is helping keep him up-to-date.

We just shared a special weekend with Caleb, before this last setback, celebrating all he has overcome the past year.  We were surprised to hear him say that he doesn't feel one ounce better today than he did one year ago, before his diagnosis.  The faces of cancer have certainly changed month-by-month this past year, but not the way he feels.  That's disappointing to us, but expected.  We hope that changes soon though, and we look forward to three years from now when treatment is over.  On his 10th birthday, we KNOW he'll say he finally feels better. We're thankful for our prayer warriors & brilliant doctors & nurses at Texas Children's.

Finally, a special song to share with you that one of our neighbor's wrote for Caleb.  Her grandson is singing & our Zachary is one of the back-up singers.  Enjoy & God bless. (You can copy & paste the link in your browser.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I29zQCZvLHU&feature=youtu.be