Most people know me to be a pretty fair and even-keeled father. I’m never protective, letting them take more than their share of lumps, which I lovingly consider learning opportunities. Some might even call me neglectfully calm. For instance, yesterday, I let Jenna (7) and Isabella (4) take Buddy (1) for a walk around the block by themselves. Yeah, I’m crazy like that.
I’m pretty confident with my child-raising abilities and tend to not heed other people’s advice unless it makes sense to me. I consider myself to be a fearless but even-tempered father. But, one thing terrifies me to my utter core.
Our friends, Brent and Rachel are currently experiencing my worst nightmare; their son Jeremiah has been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.
I’ll let Rachel explain the details…
Jeremiah was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare, highly agressive cancer, in January 2006. He was a couple a weeks away from his 2nd birthday. He has undergone chemotherapy and radiation and was technically in “remission”, but his last CT scan on March 28th showed that his tumor had grown. The doctors would like to place him on more chemo, radiation, and radical surgery (removal of uretha, prostrate, bladder, and possibly colon). We are in the process of getting a second opinion in and out of the medical provider network.
I can’t even begin to imagine what they are going through right now. I watched my mother slowly succumb to colon cancer in 2003 and the thought of watching one my kids going through that is simply unfathomable and wrenches my heart like a grape in a vise.
Although the doctors seem to be pessimistic, they are exploring out-of-network options that are highly risky and expensive. No one can begin to predict the success of the treatments and I can only imagine their desperation and helplessness. Hell, who am I kidding? No I can’t. They are racking up some significant costs, so Mamazilla suggested that set up a Dropcash campaign. Please give if you can. It might make this trying time a little less trying.
