Lorenzo had all the signs of leukemia: unexplained fevers, joint pain, loss of appetite, trouble sleeping, and night sweats. On  August 17, 2023, we brought Lorenzo to Lehigh Valley Reilly Children's Hospital when he could no longer walk and was in extreme pain. There, they took us seriously and ran numerous tests. That's when we met Dr. Troutman and Emily Jacobson, who gave us the devastating news that our son has Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). Our world came crashing down, and we were left with so many questions. As his mom I felt so angry and confused. I kept thinking to myself, "How could this be happening?" It truly felt like a nightmare that I couldn't wake up from. You see the commercials for childhood cancer, but you never expect to relate to those same commercials. We had zero knowledge of the life of a parent with a child battling cancer.

We were immediately admitted into the hospital and spent the next two weeks having our life forever changed. Things move quickly in the cancer world. He needed blood transfusions and platelets. Then his surgery to place his port. Soon after, chemo started. For the first month after his diagnosis, it felt like we would never be able to get him to take his oral medication. Lots of tears were involved. I remember when they told us his treatment for leukemia was going to be roughly 2.5 years. I couldn't even believe this would be our world for 2.5 years. We're now one year into our journey, and it's been a whirlwind of emotions. Clinic days never get easier because it's a place of trauma for our son. He hates the finger pokes and having to access his port. We're finally into maintenance which will eventually mean fewer clinic days, finger pokes, port accesses, and procedures. Often people will tell me if they didn't know Lorenzo has cancer, they could never tell by looking at him. Not even cancer can slow him down. 

The oncology team has been nothing short of amazing...trying to make hospital stays and clinic days as "easy" as they can be, making Lorenzo laugh and smile even when he's not happy, and reassuring me often that everything is going to be okay and he's doing great. The nurses are amazing. They are the glue of the team. The amazing child life staff who help Lorenzo feel safe and validated. PCFLV brings us normalcy and helps in times of need. They provide countless opportunities to events, free of charge, so our families can enjoy the fun in life. They help by throwing a week-long day camp where kids get to be kids. It was Lorenzo’s favorite, and he can't wait for next summer! We're so grateful that during this time we have such an amazing team of people who help us get through the tough days. 

Written by Lorenzo’s mom, Cierra

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