Finding Joy through Life's Trials
My heart is hurting today. Truth be told, it’s hurt a lot off and on for several months. The past few days I’ve been especially down, though. The reason why is a one-word answer, and I bet you can guess it. Yep… Cancer. In our …
I am in SUCH a good mood right now! Thanks to the DIN (Do It NOW) challenge I ran last month, for the first time perhaps ever, I have all of my Christmas decorations (except for our tree) up! And it’s only December 1st! Thank …
We were fortunate enough to go to St. Simons Island (SSI), Georgia for the second time this past June! If you’ve been following us for awhile, you might remember that in July of 2022, we attended a family retreat on SSI with Blue Skies Ministries. This year we were able to go back, but this time it was with Lighthouse Family Retreat (LFR—the nonprofit we originally vacationed with in July 2021). Once again, both SSI and LFR blew us away.
We flew into Orlando on June 11 and spent a magnificent day with my niece at Magic Kingdom. We were worried that it might be a bit disappointing going to Disney again after getting VIP treatment with Link’s wish pass last November, but their DAS (Disability Access Service) pass was great! We were surprised with how much we were able to get done. Lincoln’s favorite ride this time around was Goofy’s The Barnstormer. Logan’s fave continued to be The Haunted Mansion. No surprise there!
We got up the next day and were able to visit the wonderful Give Kids the World Village as an alumni family before driving north a few hours to Georgia. It was wonderful visiting GKTW again. Since we went there for Link’s wish trip, we can revisit the village for two days every single year. I’ve said it before, but this place really is magical.
When we first arrived, they greeted us by saying, “Welcome Home!” And that’s what it felt like. We got to eat ice cream, ride on the train, and play “DinoPutt”. We rode on the carousel and had lunch in the cafeteria. Probably more special than anything, though, we got to go “stargazing” and see where Link’s star is in the Castle of Miracles. 💛🥹💛
Every single star on the ceiling of this building (plus more stored elsewhere since there have been so many) represents a child whose wish was granted at Give Kids the World. It’s incredible being in that space. I recently read the memoir of Henri Landwirth, the founder of GKTW. What an inspiration! He was a Holocaust survivor who turned the tragedy he experienced into motivation to help others. In fact, it was while reading his book that I got the distinct impression (again) that I need to be brave and go all-in on some projects that will help others (the Wacky Warriors softball tournament and my upcoming podcast, Finding Joy through Life’s Trials, which I’m launching in January).
Anyway, after we left GKTW, we headed to St. Simons Island, Georgia. This weeklong family retreat for childhood cancer families was the reason for our whole trip. We just tacked on some extra fun before and after it. If you’ll recall, we went on a retreat with this awesome nonprofit two summers ago. That time we went to Emerald Isle, NC. This year our Lighthouse Family Retreat was at Epworth by the Sea on SSI. It was breathtakingly beautiful, peaceful, and overall glorious.
Just like the last time we went on a Lighthouse Family Retreat, this week in Georgia was nothing short of amazing. LFR truly makes the retreat families (who have all dealt with or are dealing with childhood cancer) feel like royalty. We arrived to balloons and our Family Partners (the volunteers assigned to our family) holding up a welcome sign. They started out as strangers, but by the end of the week (or, really, by just the second day), they felt like family.
All of our Family Partners were wonderful. We love them!!! They truly spoiled us. They helped us get our meals from the cafeteria, delivered things to our room, did our room service, tirelessly played with our boys, took Lincoln on innumerable walks outside so he could watch the wind blowing in the trees, and so much more.
We spent the week doing all sorts of activities:
I can’t believe it’s been so long since we left these wonderful people. No matter how much time passes, though, we will never forget the week we spent with them. We’ve now been blessed to attend three faith-based retreats for families going through childhood cancer, and each one felt like Heaven. I’m not exaggerating. All three made the list of the top ten weeks of our lives. The feeling of love, acceptance, and service felt at these retreats is indescribable.
I’ve said this before, but the volunteers with both Lighthouse Family Retreat and Blue Skies Ministries (the retreat we attended last summer) truly serve with Christlike love, bending over backwards to accommodate their retreat families. If we could live in a LFR or BSM world, we’d jump at the chance. For now, though, we’ll just have to hold the memories in our hearts and look forward to the years when we’ll get to volunteer for these extraordinary organizations. 💛💛
After we left Lighthouse Family Retreat, we explored a bit more in Georgia and Florida before heading home. We ate breakfast at Palmer’s Village Cafe (delicious!) and drove around St. Simons finding a few of their famous “Tree Spirit” carvings. Then we went across the beautiful Sidney Lanier Bridge (again) to Jekyll Island and walked around Driftwood Beach. I’m so glad we took the time to go! I wanted to go there last year, but we ran out of time. As everyone says, it was very cool. We’ll go back and spend more time there someday.
Next up, we drove back to Orlando. On our way, we made a stop to experience Buc-ee’s for the first time. Oh. My. Gosh. We’d had several friends tell us we needed to go there. I KNEW it would be huge. I was not, however, prepared for how BUSY it would be! Insane! I was literally more worried about losing Logan there than I was at Disney World. It was fun, though, and everyone was right—it was impressive, fun, and worth the stop. Plus it provided tons of (too much 😂) yummy food for our drive.
That night we relaxed at our hotel. We enjoyed the pool and hot tub and got a good night’s rest. The next morning we ate breakfast, checked out of our hotel, and headed to Disney Springs. We met my niece there and spent the day shopping and (you guessed it!) eating together. Coke Zero addicts that we are, we went to the Coca-Cola Store and got their Around the World Tray. It’s a sampler of 16 of Coca-Cola’s beverages from around the world. Truth be told, I was NOT much of a fan of most of them. 😂 We had an AMAZING lunch at Art Smith’s Homecomin’ before driving to the airport and flying home. (Art Smith, BTW, was Oprah’s personal chef for ten years. I can see why she kept him around.) We finished up by getting ice cream at Salt & Straw. It was so good a squirrel even tried to steal some a few times. 😊
It was an incredible vacation, and we’re so grateful we were able to go. I highly recommend planning a vacation to St. Simons Island. You won’t regret it!
Last month I finished reading the book Look What You’ve Done: The Lies We Believe and the Truth that Sets Us Free by Christian music artist Tasha Layton, and I loved it! Before I dive into my book review, though, I want to tell you …
It’s now been over six years since we announced that we were expecting our twins. I had been waiting for that moment for years—most of my life, actually. I’d always wanted to be a mom. I loved little kids—in small groups, at least. (There’s a …
September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. I worked on a different blog post about childhood cancer for several weeks in September, but it was honestly really hard. I bounced around working on one blog post after another, trying to get up the motivation to complete the original post that centers on the harsh realities of childhood cancer. Living through the fight is unimaginably painful, but the fight doesn’t end when your kid reaches end-of-treatment. Just like every other parent who’s walked the childhood cancer road, I got battle scars—scars that I often don’t want to look at.
When I was about halfway through writing the original article, I was, yet again, finding it difficult to tackle my important Childhood Cancer Awareness Month blog post. Avoidance is, unfortunately, my go-to defense mechanism. Anyone notice that my last published post was back in AUGUST?! If you didn’t, lucky you. Personally, I think I thought about it every single day between September 1st and today. Once you become a childhood cancer mom, you quickly feel the responsibility of spreading awareness that our children deserve so much more! I deeply felt that duty last month, and yet I couldn’t bring myself to finish an article. The responsibility—even though I know it’s far from all mine—felt crushing. And, truth be told, I was grieving the fact that my life led me to be in the childhood cancer world to feel such responsibility in the first place.
As I tried to force myself to write, I had the realization that it is OK if I’m not ready to finish that original blog article yet. I decided to give myself grace, and I started writing this article instead. Its focus is on a topic I naturally find much easier to talk and write about: gratitude.
I WILL publish my other post on childhood cancer someday. I 100% feel it’s my duty and calling to spread awareness and support for our warrior children. If you take a look at the title of my blog, though, it should come as no surprise that I chose to have this blog post revolve around all of the silver linings my family and I have been gifted with because of Lincoln’s cancer diagnosis.
I always try to focus on the positives. There are too many horrendous negatives that come with childhood cancer, and I WILL address them in several future posts. Today, though, I’m giving myself more time. In doing so, I sincerely hope that I can comfort the families living through the Hellish nightmare that is childhood cancer and also provide others with some ideas of how they can help.
Here is a list of 25 blessings and gifts my family has received as a result of Link’s leukemia diagnosis:
I believe this was the first organization I signed Lincoln up for after he was diagnosed. Each month for a year they send the cancer cutie (and his/her siblings) a plastic jar filled with little gifts. The gifts range from stuffed animals to card decks to light up toys to rubber duckies to whoopee cushions. They also send extra things, such as blankets and pillows cases, for birthdays. Our boys loved getting the jars.
Lincoln received his superhero cape shortly after his diagnosis. Josh’s sister surprised us by applying for Link to get one. This is an easy, kind way you can help a newly-diagnosed kiddo. The cape is such a fun thing for Lincoln. He had one hospital stay when her wouldn’t let me take it off him! 😂 It’s also a very fitting gift; these kids truly are superheroes!
This is such a wonderful non-profit. Sadie Keller is a childhood cancer survivor. She started this foundation because she “believes that we must band together to fight and end childhood cancer”. One element of her foundation is that it provides children going through cancer with a big “Milestone Gift” (of his/her choice within a certain dollar amount). We got Lincoln a ride-on Jeep! He and Logan both LOOOVE it.
https://sadiekellerfoundation.org/
This non-profit was started in honor of another childhood cancer survivor, Baxley. They provide childhood cancer families with wagons filled with goodies. You have to go back and forth from the hospital—loaded down with lots of stuff—when your kid is in treatment. Cancer kiddos also often don’t have the energy and/or stamina to walk on their own. The wagons from HYP help with both things! I can’t tell you how many times we’ve used and been grateful for this gift since we got it.
This is such a creative idea. When kids go through cancer treatments, they understandably miss a lot of school. As a result, it can leave them feeling even more lonely and disconnected from their peers. This organization provides an adorable stuffed animal monkey that the cancer cutie’s teacher can put at his/her desk whenever he/she is absent. It’s a fun way for everyone in the class to stay connected.
http://www.monkeyinmychair.org/
Quinton Muir is a childhood cancer angel who loved Ironman. His amazing family set up this foundation in his honor. They provide care packages, Christmas boxes, and scholarships to kids battling cancer. We received a huge package containing a beautiful handmade quilt and lots of other toys for Lincoln and Logan the first Christmas Link was in treatment.
Hayes is another childhood cancer angel. We feel especially close to his family’s story because he was a triplet. His beautiful parents created this organization to provide “financial support and hope to families affected by childhood cancer”. We couldn’t believe their generosity when we opened up the box from them!
You’ve heard me talk ad nauseum about this incredible organization. This weeklong, beachside retreat with other families living through childhood cancer forever changed us. PLEASE apply to attend ones of their retreats if your child is going through treatment or has recently reached end-of-treatment. Recommend it to your friends! You won’t regret it.
https://www.lighthousefamilyretreat.org/
Again, I’ve written about this wonderful experience before, but I can’t recommend it enough! We made lifelong friends and memories on this amazing vacation. While with LFR, I believe your child has to be in treatment or just off treatment within the past year, with Blue Skies, I believe your child has to be in treatment or just barely off treatment (as in within a month or two).
https://www.blueskiesministries.org/
This was our second year attending the Wacky Warriors tournament. The organization was founded by another childhood cancer angel, Nick Raiit, before he passed away, and his family has kept it going. Each September they hold a girls’ softball tournament, and each team represents a local childhood cancer warrior, angel, or survivor. We’ve been utterly spoiled each year! Everyone goes out of their way to honor our warriors and families.
https://www.wackywarriors.org/2022-softball-tournament
Yet another fantastic local organization, Camp Hobe offers summer camps in Utah “for children being treated for cancer and similarly-treated disorders and their families”. This past summer my boys went to their first day camp there, and they LOVED it!! So did I; I got several hours of time to myself! 😉 Once my boys are seven, they’ll be eligible to attend one of Camp Hobe’s overnight camps.
This is a fundraiser in Utah that’s put on every September or October to raise funds for pediatric cancer research. Kids have the chance to operate real construction machinery, get their faces painted, play games, get some swag, etc. Since Link was diagnosed just a tad before Covid, this was the first time we attended in person. Our boys loved it!
The Mascot Miracles Foundation is amazing. Throughout the year they put on several events for kids who spend much of their lives in hospitals. We’ve only been able to attend one virtual event (filmed at an aquarium) and one in-person event (at Cowabunga Bay) so far, but we plan on going to many more in the future.
We have so many phenomenal people in Link’s Army. A couple of days before Easter in 2020, one of my friends contacted me because she had a once-in-a-lifetime surprise for us. Her husband had nominated us to have Alex Boyé come serenade us in a private, “Quarantine Concert” in our front yard! (Remember, this was the early days of the pandemic.) Alex came with a few of his kids, set up a modest sound system, and sang to us in our driveway for over an hour. He was utterly amazing—both as an artist and as a person. Friends from around our neighborhood came and watched while keeping their distance. It was an experience we’ll never, ever forget.
This is the big one. Pretty much everyone’s heard of this non-profit organization and how it helps brighten the lives of children with critical illnesses. Now that our family is directly working with Utah’s chapter, I can attest to the fact that they truly are incredible. A couple of weeks ago we got the news that Lincoln’s wish has been granted! In November we’ll be heading to Orlando for Disney World and Universal Studios and staying at the incredible Give Kids the World Village!!!! 🤗
We have been absolutely blown away by people’s generosity since Lincoln was diagnosed. We have been given a few thousand dollars over the past three years. Money has rolled in from family, friends, coworkers, former co-workers, former classmates, organizations, strangers, etc. Believe me, we don’t take it for granted! We feel overwhelmingly blessed with finances and insurance thanks to the jobs Josh has held. Even so, it is ALWAYS expensive to have a child go through cancer. Hidden bills and fees seem to show up all the time; I’ve come to dread getting the mail because there’s almost always a medical bill and/or something I have to do with insurance. Things would have been so much more stressful without everyone’s help, though. If you’re ever wondering what you can do to help a family going through cancer, money is always appreciated. 💛
I’ve mentioned before that I’m part of a one-of-a-kind Facebook group for Utah moms whose kids are going through/have gone through cancer. The caliber of women I’ve met through this group can’t be overstated. They are truly awe-inspiring. One of the beautiful things they did for our family was raise funds to gift us an iPad and an overflowing basket of goodies. Kiddos going through cancer treatment spend innumerable hours in hospitals and at appointments, and their siblings are often stuck at home (ESPECIALLY in this post-Covid world), so having plenty of entertainment (books, puzzles, stuffed animals, toys, games, coloring books, stickers, etc.) is a must. In case you can’t tell from their smiling faces in the picture above, Lincoln and Logan LOVED this amazing gift.
As you can imagine, you don’t have much spare time when you’re dealing with cancer. We appreciated anything that could simplify our days. We were blessed time and time (& time) again with family, friends, and neighbors who brought us meals. We received frozen meals and hot meals with equal gratitude. We also loved getting gift cards to restaurants—especially to fast food joints for those particularly crazy days. Gift cards for gas were lifesavers with all of the trips to and from the hospital. You might think giving these things is “boring” or uninspired, but I promise you that they’re one of the first things almost ALL families going through cancer treatments say they need.
When people are trying to think of families that could use a little boost in spirits, they understandably tend to think of families dealing with cancer. I know I did before Link was diagnosed, and I definitely do now! As a result, MANY people have given us surprises throughout the past 3-1/2 years. We got THREE outdoor playsets/toys people were getting rid of. We got an AMAZING, one-of-a-kind, custom-built swing from Josh’s stepdad. We got a custom-made canvas print of our boys. We got homemade quilts. And so much more!! At times we’ve felt guilty for all of the incredible things people have offered. However, at one point my wise friend told me that people wouldn’t offer if they didn’t want to give us something, and by turning a gift down, we weren’t allowing those people to serve and bless us. OK, fine… We’ll gladly let people receive blessings for blessing us. 😘
As simple as it is, it always brightened our day when we discovered loving artwork and messages on our driveway and/or front door. I’ve said this before already, but you don’t need to reinvent the wheel to make someone smile! These are tried and true ways to lift someone’s spirits.
Oh, the wonderful discounts… 😂 Like I’ve said before, the cost of admission to the cancer club is WAY too high. But… We didn’t complain when it balanced out a teensy bit when companies offered us discounts after learning about Lincoln. Lower cost for sprinkler repair? Yes, please!!!
You know the popular question along the lines of, “If you could have a maid, a personal chef, or a nanny for the rest of your life, which would you choose?” My answer is always the same: A MAID!!!! ALWAYS a maid! I love having a clean house. However, it is an ongoing struggle for me to ever want to clean. My ADHD certainly doesn’t help. Neither did Link’s cancer diagnosis. A few times throughout his treatment, we had wonderful friends come over to clean our house and/or do some laundry. My mom, who stayed with us and helped us more than I could have ever wished for, was a LIFESAVER in this department, as well. If you’re wondering what you can do to help a family going through a medical trial, offer to clean their house. Or offer to pay for a maid to clean for them (just one time or as an ongoing thing for awhile). Seriously. They may be hesitant to say yes at first, but ask them if it would honestly help. If they admit that it would (and I don’t know a single cancer mom who honestly would never appreciate it), tell them there is 100% no judgment in it, that you want to help, and you’re going to help.
One of my favorite funny memes says, “I don’t think of myself as having a ‘grey’ thumb; I’m more of a plant hospice worker, easing the transition so plants can go to Jesus”. 😂🙋🤦 Yep. That’s me. While I would love to love gardening like my mom does, that hasn’t happened yet in my life. Josh and I REALLY struggle with getting out and doing yardwork. We don’t want to have the worst yard on the block, but more often than not, it’s a contender. During Lincoln’s treatment…?? Forget about it. When people offered to come mow our lawn, weed whack, pull weeds, etc., we were SO GRATEFUL!!!! The same can be said for when people removed snow from our driveway/sidewalks in the winter. Angels—all of them.
This gift is truly priceless. I will never be able to fully communicate how grateful I am for the tribe we fell into that makes this difficult road so much more bearable. We’ve made friends through Facebook groups, family retreats, and many other avenues. We would have been lost without them.
OK. This is mostly a joke, but in reality we DID use Lincoln having cancer as an excuse to get out of speeding tickets…twice. 😂 Neither Josh not I get pulled over often. It just so happened that we got pulled over TWICE in 2020 when we were going on car rides to get out of the house. It happened early on when Lincoln was pretty miserable. We’d drive through neighborhoods for a change of scenery, and a couple of times we didn’t notice speed limit changes. It didn’t take much explaining—basically just a glance at our sweet boy’s bald head—before the cops let us off.
Oh my goodness… The amount of prayers offered on Lincoln’s behalf—and for our whole family, actually—is innumerable. We’ve been surrounded by good vibes sent from everyone for years. If you even offered one prayer for us, THANK YOU. We felt them, and they helped.
*Denotes local (to/near Utah) organizations
This is most definitely NOT an exhaustive list of everything we’ve received and been blessed with. I know I’ve forgotten some things. It should give you a good idea of why Josh and I are so grateful, though. We’ve been given a lot. Josh and I frequently say that the price of admission into this cancer club is FAR too high, yet we wouldn’t have received any of these beautiful things without joining.
If you know someone whose child has been diagnosed with cancer, please refer to this list for ideas of how you can help! Refer those families to this list so they can sign up for the amazing programs and help available! And whether or not you know a family struggling with childhood cancer, please consider donating to one of the MANY non-profits that help provide hope to families going through some very, very dark days.
What Vacation?! You know the good ol’ saying, “I need a vacation from my vacation!”? Yeah. I definitely needed one after our trip to Georgia. We’ve been home for a whole month, but I came home with a horrible cold that refused to leave me …
I was sitting at Cupbop, enjoying my alone time while I waited for my family’s takeout order, when I finished listening to Cory Reese’s book titled Stronger than the Dark: Exploring the Intimate Relationship Between Running and Depression. Listening to this book left me feeling …
We’ve all heard the phrase “every parent’s worst nightmare”. It’s often spoken in hushed disbelief surrounding moments of trauma. Every parent fears ever being told that their child has cancer. It’s a fear we all have, but no one ever expects it to actually happen to them. I didn’t, either…until it did.
Did you know that your child is MUCH more likely to be diagnosed with cancer than he/she is to win the lottery? It’s true. Odds of winning one of the most popular lotteries in the U.S. are 1 in 176 MILLION. However, one out of every 285 children in the U.S. will be diagnosed with cancer before they turn 20.
Since our boys were born at 23 weeks, 6 days gestation, we’d already had our fair share of difficult medical conversations before Lincoln was diagnosed. We were frequent visitors to practically every department at the children’s specialty hospital. Ironically, anytime we were at the hospital going through something difficult, Josh and I would walk past the Oncology department and think—or sometimes say out loud, “Things could always be worse!” Even so, we never expected to be told one of our boys had leukemia.
Here is my Facebook post where I announced to our friends and family that Lincoln had cancer:
“They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but here are a whole bunch more:
To say the past few days haven’t gone as planned for us would be the understatement of the century. Josh and I had a couples’ massage date all booked for yesterday to help us relieve some stress. Instead of going on that date, we found ourselves back at Primary Children’s Hospital with Lincoln. The short version of the story is that Lincoln has been diagnosed with leukemia.
If you’re reading this news for the first time, then you probably feel a lot like we did at first…utterly and completely shocked. It had been a long month and a half for us, with Lincoln on his third antibiotic to clear up ear infections. He’d been miserable, we’d all lost a LOT of sleep, and things still didn’t seem to be greatly improving. He also had a sore on his bum that was getting worse. The boys had their three-year wellness exams scheduled for Thursday, so we were looking forward to hopefully getting Link’s sore taken care of and having him finally be on the mend. After looking at Link’s bad abscess and seeing how miserable and pale he was, our pediatrician thought it’d be best for the surgical team at Primary Children’s to take a look at him. Josh and I weren’t surprised by that, especially considering Link’s complicated history and how bad the abscess was.
Hindsight is 20/20, and we see all of the signs clearly now, but cancer wasn’t even on our radar when we checked in to the ER. We were worried about Lincoln’s pain, fevers, and especially possible sepsis. Then the doctor blindsided us by telling us that his bloodwork showed several red flags consistent with leukemia. More tests confirmed our worst nightmare.
We found out what type of leukemia he has yesterday. He’s been diagnosed with B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). It’s the most common type of childhood cancer. It’s the “best” diagnosis out of several bad ones; it’s still cancer, after all. Depending on some more factors we’ll find out over the next month, the survival rate is anywhere from 88-98%. Right now, Link’s considered a “Standard Risk” patient.
Since we got up to our Oncology room, Lincoln’s received two blood transfusions and three platelet transfusions. They’re going to be taking him into surgery any minute to place a port, get an echo, and do a lumbar puncture. The surgery will take about two hours; then it usually takes him awhile to wake up and get back to the room. Then he’ll start chemo later today. His treatment plan will last for about 2-1/2 years.
TL;DR: Lincoln has cancer. This sucks. Life isn’t fair. BUT Lincoln is strong. He’s the strongest little dude we’ve ever met. The Lord is on our side, and we have faith that things will go well. Please pray for us. ❤️🙏❤️”
I posted that on January 25, 2020—two days after Josh and I had been told that Lincoln had cancer. Almost as shocking as it was to hear his diagnosis, sometimes it’s hard to believe that Lincoln is now 100% done with his treatment! We got through it! We all survived! When you hear that your child is going to be going through treatment and getting chemotherapy for OVER TWO YEARS, it’s hard not to feel defeated just as the fight is beginning. However, with faith, perseverance, and patience, eventually we stepped out of the dark and into the light again.
I’ve always felt a strong pull towards trying to help people. Now that I’ve been through “every parent’s worst nightmare”, I simply HAVE to try to help other parents who are still in the trenches. I HAVE to spread awareness and advocate for these precious children who deserve so much more.
One thing Josh and I learned is that even though ALL is the most common type of childhood cancer, it’s still very rare. Most pediatricians only encounter a child being diagnosed with cancer 1-3 times in their entire career. This means that even if you have an excellent pediatrician (which we did/do), it’s unlikely that he/she has a lot of experience witnessing the signs of leukemia. That’s why it’s so important for YOU to know the signs of childhood cancer.
Every child is different and manifests different symptoms in varying degrees, but here are some common signs and symptoms of childhood leukemia: - Fatigue* - Weakness* - Feeling cold - Feeling dizzy or lightheaded - Shortness of breath - Paler skin* - Infections* - Fever* - Easy bruising and bleeding - Petechia (tiny red spots on the skin)* - Frequent or severe nosebleeds - Bleeding gums - Bone or joint pain, especially in the legs - Swelling of the abdomen - Loss of appetite and weight loss* - Swollen lymph nodes* - Coughing or trouble breathing - Swelling of the face and arms - Headaches, seizures, vomiting* - Rashes or gum problems *Denotes symptoms that Lincoln had prior to his diagnosis (He probably had more than these, but since he was/is mostly nonverbal, these are the only ones we KNOW he had.)
I don’t want to be an alarmist. MOST of the time if your child is experiencing some of these symptoms, it’s NOT because he/she has cancer. However, if he/she has several of these symptoms for a prolonged period of time—especially if you “just feel that something’s off” or “just have a gut feeling”—take your child to the hospital. Insist that they get a Complete Blood Count (CBC). Follow your gut.
Words will never be able to describe our gratitude for Lincoln reaching remission and having such a favorable survival prognosis. Though this childhood cancer “club” isn’t one I’d want for anyone, if you’ve found this blog because your child was recently diagnosed, know that you’re not alone. Know that others have walked the same path and come out victorious on the other side. Know that the next several years of your life will be some of the hardest of your life, but also know that you WILL also experience moments of profound gratitude. You’ll see the good in people. You’ll meet some of the most amazing people on this earth. You’ll feel more love than you probably ever have before. You’ll witness miracles.
