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, June 5, 2009

The Making of IRON-HUNTER

DAY -10 UNTIL TRANSPLANT

Here we gooooooo.................

Chemo is officially running into his body and the conditioning for Transplant is underway.

For the next three days he'll be getting a chemo called Fludarabine, one that his body has never seen before. That's a good thing........look out Leukemia.

After 3 days of chemo, he goes into TBI, which is Total Body Irradiation. Hunter has never been radiated before either. Also a good thing. He'll have 4 days of radiation, twice a day for an hour each time. Whoa.

After 4 days of radiation, he'll then get another chemo by the name of Cyclophosphamide for the next two days...........Cyclopho.....whuuut?

On Sunday June 14th will be his day of rest. (And a day of serious praying!!!!)

And then on Monday, June 15th, they will transplant the cord blood unit into Hunter's body with hopes that the last chemo and radiation killed every last bit of any Leukemia that might be hiding out in Hunter's body and this new marrow comes in and takes over. (Many, many, MANY thanks to Be The Match, for having the ONE cord blood unit that was eligible for Hunter's Body. You are seriously saving his life). We owe you..........BIG TIME.

After that....we have about 45 days of hell. That's when we'll be dealing with all of the toxicity that Hunter has received, any kind of organ failure, graft failure, infections, bleeding, anemia, graft vs. host, all sorts of good, fun, white knuckle stuff. (Another good time for lots of focused praying and healing white light).

The doctors have been preparing his body all week and have been running a number of tests to make sure that his body is in a place to go through with the transplant.

First he got his routine echocardiogram, which for the fist time showed permanent damage to his heart. That was a bummer. We kind of knew that was coming. But still didn't want to hear it. So I guess we'll be pushing Hunter towards his music interests instead of sports as he gets older. We're hoping for something like a music producer since he's got such fantastic rhythm and can really hold a beat.

He had his Cat Scan to check on his Typhlitis and the rest of his insides. And the good news there is that the TYPHLITIS is GONE. Hallelujah!

He had an MRI to check on his Myositis.......and that is still there???? But hopefully starts to subside soon.

He had his kidneys checked yesterday, (GFR Test)....and we are still waiting on results for that - but I am assuming that since the Fludarabine is going in to his body as I type......that his kidneys are capable of handling what's coming their way.

He had a Chest Xray to check on his lungs.....and there was a slight collapse, which they said would repair itself. It would help to get Hunter out of bed and moving around a bit more......but he's kinda not in the mood with swollen legs. However, he has been wiggling his butt off from the waist up!

And he's also had a number of blood tests to check for a whole slew of other things, which also came back positive and ready to move forward.

So Hunter's on his way to getting really, really sick..........but then he's going to eventually recover and he'll hopefully be on his way to living the life he was meant to live. He's been so, so strong up to this point, and has handled the toxins incredibly well, so everyone is extremely hopeful and very optimistic. People all over the world are rooting for him and I know he's got the strength and the courage and the endurance to pull it through. His overwhelmingly positive spirit shines on and he is on his way to becoming IRON-HUNTER.

Having a good time!



Hunter Chillin' like the cool cat that he is...



Hunter getting contrast before his Cat Scan. It's the fluid that makes all the good stuff light up once he's in the scan. He HATES contrast. We have to give him about 3 full syringes worth over the course of an hour.






Some REALLY fun video of Hunter getting his giggle on - still feeling the effects of Versed after his Cat Scan.


CLICK HERE FOR YOUTUBE VIDEO




Heading to Xray.



Buzz Lightyear was also there again getting an Xray. He's having some work done as well. Who better to share the experience with - they compared stories and battle wounds for HOURS! Hunter's one-up on him......and then some.



Getting ready for his MRI.



Put to sleep for the 2-hour long procedure.



Hunter listening to his heart himself - doubting the docs diagnosis. He says he feels just fine.



Lovin' our Bean.

No comments: