Jack is the 2nd youngest of 8 children. Of all his brothers and sisters, he has always been the one to keep us on our toes. He was frequently sick with his asthma, colds and viruses, but always wearing a huge smile despite it all. So, it wasn’t a shock that he wasn’t feeling great on Tuesday morning, January 23rd. He was usually the first one to get ready for school, and he couldn’t wait to get there. But that morning, he was somewhat lethargic and unlike himself. Later, at pick up, his beloved teacher mentioned that he’d had an off day and had complained that his legs hurt, but he was still able to play a bit. That night he asked his Dad to carry him to bed and he noticed a fever. We both assumed it was another virus. But Jack whimpered through the night. On Wednesday morning January 24th, he couldn’t walk at all. We decided to bring him to the ER. There, we learned that Jack’s hemoglobin was dangerously low. They decided to transfer us to Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital. When we called family, we said we were going down just to rule out “anything scary”. But that would not be the case.

That night at LVRCH, they ran more tests. Our poor baby was in so much pain. Our bouncing, grinning, loving, adorable four-year-old couldn’t walk to the bathroom. He couldn’t move without crying out in pain. Thursday morning, January 25th, the doctors came back with a diagnosis: “Jack is positive for acute leukemia.”  In one sentence, our entire world broke. Changed in a way that can never go back. We knew nothing. Less than nothing about leukemia. We didn’t know anyone who’d had it. We didn’t know survival rates. We didn’t know what he would be facing. It felt like we met 100 people that day. It was all a blur. We focused on the next steps: Port. Bone Biopsy. Lumbar puncture. Chemo. It was all so scary. But we had no time to be scared.

The next day, Friday the 26th, Jack had his surgical port placement. While he was gone, I cried for the first time. And we prayed. After we were back in his room, we met with the oncologist again who told us that Jack has “the good leukemia”- that is, if you have to have leukemia, this is the one that is the most treatable. Jack was diagnosed with B-Cell ALL- Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. He has now been through 7 months of treatment. It has been a roller coaster that has included complications that ranged all the way from septic shock to minor inconveniences and delays.

We joke that Cancer is a new member of our family who demands to be the center of attention. Our lives have been turned inside out and upside down. But Jack continues to be unbelievably brave, loving and sweet. His smile lights up a room. It even lit up a billboard for PCFLV’s 20th birthday celebration! The support we have received from this organization has been invaluable, and I can’t say enough about how much they have helped and supported us through this awful journey. Jack WILL beat this cancer. And we know without a doubt that PCFLV will be there with us, right up until Jack rings his own bell, and long after.

Written by Jack’s mom, Mary

Please consider helping children with cancer and others in our community by scheduling a blood donation at Miller-Keystone Blood Center: https://donor.giveapint.org/donor/schedules/zip