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, January 18, 2008

Limbo

Day 15 of round two.

Things are going well. Hunter is responding to the second round appropriately. His blood count is still coming down and his immune system is almost at zero. He is completely vulnerable to infection but so far he has not been infected. Double "knock on wood" as we hunker down for a 3-4 week wait for his blood count to come back. Once the white cells get back to normal they will do another bone marrow test for Leukemia.

In the beginning of round two he was on the vomit comet but as the therapy program progressed he was able to "hold his lunch".

The best news is how physical he has become. He is getting so rambunctious that he is hard to manage. Even towing the IV station he can get completely across the bed before you can manage to grab him. This was clearly understood a couple days ago as he did a face first slider off the bed. We expected the worst yet he barely cried. What a tough son of a gun.

The next day his left arm (the pick arm) was red and swollen. We feared a broken bone but he displayed no pain. The doctors decided that the pick (the IV tube that was inserted in his vein all the way to his heart) was in his body too deep and that his heart was causing back pressure and thus a build up of fluid in his lower arm. They pulled the pick out 1.5 cm and the swelling went down in about an hour. I wish everything in life responded that quickly to action.

On the terror front - Hunter had another choking session that scared everyone. Lenore gave him his usual dose of oral medicines but for some reason he began to choke. He turned red and then blue before I could get out of the room to scream "Hunter is choking". Within seconds the entire nursing staff came rushing into the room. I gathered Hunter in my arms and violently pounded on his back. As the doctors poured into the room Hunter vomited and began to cry. What a relief - I almost wanted to pass out. The entire staff let out a collective sigh as they patted us on the back and tentatively left us in our startled condition.

Even with all the action - our current hospital status is "routine". We are just another family living in hospital limbo - hopeful for the best.

2 comments:

Roy Llera said...

hey guys,

We are thinking about you all and are in our prayers. Thanks for the updates...you guys are super parents and Hunter is a trooper.
It's all going to work out!

Roy, Yeni, Ricardo y Rafael

Anonymous said...

Oh my lord, you are the bravest and most amazing Parents, and Hunter has such an incredible spirit. I'm praying for you guys every day!