The Journey Begins

For the past few weeks, Andrew was appearing pale and increasingly lethargic. On Wednesday afternoon, he went in to the pediatrician and the doctor noticed that his spleen appeared enlarged and an ultrasound revealed an abdominal mass. Andrew was admitted immediately into Huntington and underwent tests through the night. The next morning, we learned that Andrew has a type of cancer called Neuroblastoma. That afternoon, Andrew was transferred over to Childrens Hospital, where he is now. Several exhausting tests, a blood transfusion, and many many hours spent with doctors later, we’ve learned that the cancer has invaded his bones, lymph nodes and tissue, and Andrew is diagnosed as in Stage 4 of this horrible disease.

OK, that’s all the bad news. Onto the good: Andrew is in one of the best cancer programs nation-wide, and is being cared for by an incredible team of caring doctors and nurses. Treatment plans are better than ever, and the prognosis for children with this form of cancer has been improving steadily over the past 15 years. And we have an incredible support group to lean on.

Andrew is starting his first round of aggressive chemotherapy tonight, and we expect to stay in the hospital until the middle of next week. He’ll be able to do the rest of his chemo out-patient, followed by surgery to remove the (shrunken)tumor and then radiation, all of which should be done in about 7 months. The goal is to keep him infection-free, and to try to keep the rest of his life as normal as possible.

What can you do? Think positively. Paul & Cynthia need words of encouragement, inspiration and funny stories. Laughter and distraction are always good. Keep them in your prayers. Help us make sure that Lucia’s life stays fun and light. And let’s all of us stay strong as we begin this journey. Andrew is going to beat this.