Bradley, 2 (Anchorage, AK) | Cancer

BRADLEY, 2 (Anchorage, AK) | Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

written by his mother, Helena 

Photographed by Danielle Wakefield (The Birth Photographer)

Bradley was born a healthy little guy. His first 15 months were full of milestones met, laughter and joy. 

Last August, we noticed that Bradley started becoming crankier, running fevers here and there and was just more needy than usual. We were thinking,  "Okay, he is just teething, and he is a toddler."

As time went by, the fevers, diaper rashes, random rashes and drooling were becoming more and more frequent. By mid-October, he was running a fever almost constantly. After leaving a few doctor's appointments and being told it was likely teething-related, we didn't think twice about it.

On a Thursday, while playing in the living room, he stepped on a floor tack. By Friday, he started to crawl again...which was odd, because he had been walking for a while. By Sunday evening, he wouldn’t walk, eat or drink anything. 

We decided that we would call in the morning and make an appointment. Maybe it was an ear infection. Monday morning came early, and we were sitting at the table discussing making this appointment when we noticed these little red dots (almost like pen marks- later to be determined as petechia) on the side of Bradley’s ear (this was one of the biggest signals to the doctor that indeed something was wrong.). The Doctor ordered blood work and cultures, all the of the regular tests came back normal, which was a relief. Still, waiting on the culture which would take a couple of days.

Bradley's pediatrician called us on Wednesday morning and asked how he was doing. We let her know that nothing had really improved. She ordered another more complex blood test.

At 3:12pm on Wednesday afternoon, Bradley and I were taking a nap. Daddy was mowing the lawn. Big brother was watching TV. A normal afternoon. The phone rang and changed our life forever. It was the pediatrician. She asked me “Helena, is there someone at the house with you right now? “ I told her “Yes, Toby was mowing the lawn in the back yard.”

My heart sank.

She asked me to sit down, she told me that Bradley’s test came back and that we needed to go to the hospital right away. The test came back resulting with common traits of Leukemia. They were going to have to admit him and do more tests to confirm the diagnosis. 

Cancer.

No parent should have to hear those words regarding their child.

I couldn’t finish the phone call. I handed the phone to Toby, and could barely stand on my own two feet. The Doctor was crying also. Toby and I held onto each other for a short time while we cried. We knew we had to get Bradley to the hospital, so the phone calls began to find someone to watch Big Brother and the dog.

We were admitted by 5pm to Room 322. That was our stomping ground, and has been every time we are admitted.

Thursday morning we did the bone marrow test, and it was sent to Seattle.

Friday October 23, 2015 at 1:23pm, Bradley and I were taking a nap in the hospital room when Toby and the doctor woke me up. She sat down and told us that the test came back 99.9% positive for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). I remember this moment very well because I was still lying on the couch with Bradley on my chest. I kissed his head and looked out the window at the blue skies. 

How could there be beautiful blue skies when we just received such horrible news?

Anxiety. Frustration. FEAR. Sadness. Anger. Shock. Disbelief. Why my child? (Not that any child ever should have this ugly battle.) What did I do wrong? All the emotions and questions you could possibly think of ran through my head.

They say that in the first 3 days after your child is admitted for childhood cancer, you will meet 65 people. I think we met more than 70! Nurses, Doctors, Dieticians, Physical Therapists, Child Life, Heart Specialists, Respiratory Specialists, Surgeons, Anesthesiologists. The list goes on and on.

The first month was a whirlwind of learning about ALL.Treatment, chemo, the side effects, and asking the many questions we had. His Pediatrician said to us on day 2 that we would become uncertified RN’s by the time this is over. We laughed then but now realize what he was saying. He should have also said pharmacist.

Bradley has had some complications along the way, including 2 cases of CDIFF, failure to thrive (a feeding tube was placed for nutritional markers), rare side effects from a few of the medications, and neuropathy pain in his lower extremities. 

We have had to reteach him how to crawl, walk, stand, sit and speak multiple times after he fell sick and would shut down. He's had setbacks, but he always pushed through and tried his hardest to regain strength.

There are 6 phases to treating ALL. All of them have their downfalls, and none of them are easy. Being able to check the box complete next to the phase and move onto the next is a great achievement.  I love the statement “He passed labs!!! “ Ask any cancer parent; it will bring a smile to their face!

During our journey we have had to adjust to the “New Normal.” Clean, clean, clean; no public outings if his numbers are running low (we haven’t eaten out as a family since diagnosis).  We have to turn visitors away if they have been sick within the last 2 weeks or showing signs of possible illness. We try to make life at home as normal as possible. Big Brother has been involved every step of the way playing, supporting and being a rock for Bradley. He amazes me daily with his love and compassion for his brother.

Our nurses, doctors and therapists have become a family we never thought we would need. They have been so knowledgeable, thoughtful, kind and compassionate. They have made our journey as easy as possible. I thank all of them all the time!

We are now in the maintenance phase. A light at the end of the tunnel. We still have a long road ahead of us as January 18, 2019 is the last chemo treatment he will need if all goes as planned.

On the first day of treatment, Toby and I decided that we needed to stay positive not only for our well-being, but because it would also make Bradley’s treatment a little easier on him. Even if we are having a rough day, a simple smile from Bradley would make it brighter. We have grown closer as a family to get us through this journey, and we have a fabulous support network of family and friends.

We constantly remind ourselves that Bradley is STRONG and a FIGHTER. He will kick Cancer’s butt. Cancer has changed our lives, but we won’t let it get us down. Positivity, faith and love have been our biggest steps forward.

We have become friends with other cancer kiddos and parents, which has been nice as they understand truly what we are going through. Their kids amaze me as well. If your child is newly diagnosed remember this you are not alone, reach out, it is very helpful.

As I leave every message about Bradley, I will end with this;

Hug your loved ones daily...you never know what may happen.