Death of a Superhero

A Family's Story about Courage, Bravery and the Defining Moments of LOVE

Our sweet, lil' baby love lost his battle to AML Leukemia on March 8, 2010. We fought long, hard and very aggressively for 2.5 years, only to have his cancer come back for the fourth time to finally take his life. He was only 3 years old.

This entire blog is about Hunter's amazing journey. It's about his life and his love......his determination and his courage.......his absolutely, brilliant personality, and the affect he's had on people all over the world.

He's left an unimaginable footprint on this earth and has changed the lives of thousands of individuals. People who didn't realize how precious life was, now live it with extreme gratefulness. People who took every minute they get to spend with their children for granted, now savor every last second. And people who weren't quite sure what love is all about, now love deeper, love stronger and love with every ounce of their soul.

People all around the world have shared their love, their well wishes, their prayers and their inspiration, and we could have NEVER achieved as much as we did without them. We are humbled by their generosity & their true friendships & are forever grateful for every last person that has come into our lives through our experience with Hunter. He was our precious baby love who we loved and cherished with all our hearts and we are forever crushed and terribly, broken-hearted.

Dance in the clouds baby cakes. Mom & dad are watching proudly & you will remain so very close to our hearts for all of eternity.

Friday, December 21, 2007

MRI Day of his brain



As I was running my fingers through Hunter’s hair waiting for his MRI, it was coming out in my hands. Today is the day that it’s officially starting to fall out. Definitely not a fun thing to see and it’s almost another slap in the face as to what is really happening.

His MRI today is for the blood clot they found in his brain two days ago. The doctor’s didn’t seem to think it was anything to worry about and just want to do the MRI to follow up and check on its progress. So I guess we should only be slightly terrified.

For whatever reason, he is still not wanting to crawl or even move around in the least bit. He continues to cry and moan each time we change his diaper, which makes us think that the little man has something else ailing him. It could be his slightly enlarged liver or spleen, it could be the Leukemia, he could just be sore and achy from the Chemo or it could be an infection, fungus…….apparently the list can go on and on.

We’ve now lived here at the hospital for over a month. I have to write the level number on my hand every time I park the car to remember where it is I parked. It’s all starting to run together.


Every time Hunter leaves his room he has to have on a green mask. He is only allowed to leave for procedures when his blood levels are extremely low or at zero. Needless to say, he won't be seeing Santa this year.









The odor of McDonalds french fries is almost always present. With it being the ONLY restaurant in the hospital, other than the cafeteria, it is frequented often by the visitors, patients AND doctors. We are there now on a regular basis getting Hunter fries. The hospital nutritionist has told us that he now needs to gain weight and needs to eat anything that has lots of fat, like peanut butter, sour cream, mayo and chocolate. Zen was courageous enough to mix a whole packet of syrup into his peach yogurt. That came up about 2 hours later. All over my pillow from home. Nice.


Here we are above going back to our room for the night. Hunter was a total trooper during the entire process today and once again - took it like a stud.

I’m sitting here now starring right at him and he has a smile on his face. He’s my precious little baby boy and the joy and tenderness and love he’s brought in my life has been a truly amazing experience. I will never allow him to give up and he’s well aware that life has only just begun.

Posted by Lenore

6 comments:

mateo48 said...

hi guys. i miss you and love you all. hi hunter!!! mateo

The Willcox Family said...

My heart breaks for you. I am sitting here with tears running uncontrolably out of my eyes and I am not a crier. I have a 14 month old and I can't imagine facing what you are facing. I will be praying for you and your family, not just as an after thought or a quick flash prayer. I will be begging on my knees for you and your little boy. For his comfort and peace, his health, his care and that he will be a warrior through this.

Be strong you guys!

The Willcox Family said...

My husband and I live in the area...and after reading your latest posting--we read that you need fatty foods for Hunter. Would it be ok if we dropped off a care package for you guys? Maybe a book or a puzzle for Hunter--something for him to play with while he is in bed... Would that be ok? Is there anything else that you would want while we are at Whole Foods? I really would be happy to get it.

We have put a picture of Hunter up in our house and we are going to be praying for him constantly and for you guys!

Elie said...

HANG IN THERE GUYS! THERE ARE TONS OF US AND WE ARE THINKING ABOUT YOUR LITTLE BOY AND YOU!

Frank DiMeo said...

Zen, Lenore, and Hunter my heart goes out to you and I send all the blessings in the world to you.

You don't know me, but I read about you on Becker's blog and just wanted to stop in and say hi.

Two years ago my wife and I found out that our second child Gabriel (25 months old at the time) had an 11 centimeter stage 4 WILMS tumor on his kidney. Instantly the world stopped and we all had to step off for awhile.

No one can ever know what you are going through, but please feel free to call or email me for anything at anytime. Even if it is the middle of the night and you need someone to talk to.

Thankfully, Gabriel just finished another set of cancer free tests. He is four now and we appreciate every second we have with him.

My heart goes out to all of you. I will pray for Hunter to get well soon, and for you to have the strength to get through all of this. Please don't hesitate to contact me.

Lots of love and blessings,
-Frank

Anonymous said...

To: The Willcox Family

We'd love for you guys to stop by and see us. Feel free to come on up and say hello. We'll be here!! Send us an email with your email address attached so that we can give you the information that you'll need to get up to the room.