Ian has always been a healthy child. In July, 2016, Ian started having stomach problems with severe cramps while we were in Mexico. Upon returning home, the cramps continued along with the stomach issues. We took Ian to the doctor and they felt like he might have picked up an intestinal bug in Mexico. They treated him for Crohn’s Disease. He took the medicine for two weeks and the medicine continued to stay in his system for two weeks. Exactly two weeks after he stopped taking the medicine, Ian’s symptoms came back.

On October 4, Ian came into our room during the night and said his bed was wet from sweating so much. We changed his sheets and he sweated through two more sets of sheets. We called the doctor the next day, his pediatrician took blood and scheduled us for a CT scan to see if there was a blockage and an Xray to see if by chance he had pneumonia. The scans showed passes in his chest, intestines, and near his colon.

We entered Egleston on October 7. They tested him for TB, but after rerunning tests, were leaning towards cancer. The lymph nodes in his neck started to swell, so on October 10, they went ahead and did a bone marrow biopsy, took a lymph node out of the neck, and put his port in. Ian was officially diagnosed on October 13. We started chemo the following Monday.

Ian underwent 5 rounds of chemo. He was also supposed to do radiation for the lass in his chest, but responded so well to treatment, they decided not to do radiation.

Ian finished chemo on January 31, 2017. He was declared in remission on February 16. We are forever grateful for his recovery!

Every child who has been diagnosed with childhood cancer inspires us to Rally On to find better treatments with fewer long-term side effects and, ultimately, cures. Please join us in the fight against childhood cancer by making a donation or setting up your own Rally fundraiser today.