Dear longlock friends,



      My son jimmy who is 5 just got diagnosed with leukemia(ALL). We are so sad and in shock. I took him to the doctor because he looked very pale and i thought he might be anemic because he is not a good eater. For the last month he two weeks he has been tired.  The doctor took blood tests and he  called us and told us to bring jimmy straight to the hospital to do more tests. When they told us about the leukemia we cried all night and day.  Jimmy is a wonderful kid (god bless him). He had a bone marrow and he will start chemo today.  Thankgod there is treatment and a cure. I hope it works out ok. Its been tough though on our family. Please pray for jimmy's health. If anyone has experience with cancer or knows of it, please share.

                                                        Love Always,


                                                        Curlygirl

 

Dear Curlygirl,
                   I just have to say that you and your family are in my thoughts and prayers.  I have a three year old son, and I can not even imagine what you must be feeling at this moment.  I hope that all goes well and as I said I will keep Jimmy in my thoughts and prayers.  

                                     All the best,
                                                     Zachsmom

Curlygirl you hang in there!!  Jimmy is young and with all of you there for support and help he can't help but do well!!!!  My thoughts and prayers are with you,Jimmy and your family.  I'm sending "white light" your way and will hold him in my prayers!  Keep us posted!

You're all in my thoughts and prayers too Curlygirl22 and hoping for a very speedy recovery  :)

My prayers are also with both of you, Curlygirl... If you remain strong he is sure to, as well. You both have the support of all of us here, and all your real life friends and family.
My father had lung cancer, but with chemo and having his left lung removed, he's had no signs of anything for almost a year now.  

Very sorry to hear of the trial your son has to go through.  Know that you are in our thoughts and prayers.  *hugs*

In 2003 I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, stage 3a (There are only 4 stages of cancer).  I had a total hysterectomy and went through 6 chemo treatments.  I lost all of my hair but didn't throw up once--wonderful anti-nausea drug!  At times I felt weak and tired, but there's a drug to combat that side effect, too.  Here it is 4 years later and I'm fine--no sign of the cancer returning (thank you, God!).  There have been so many advances in the treatment of cancer during the past decade that, thankfully, it is no longer the automatic death sentence it once was.  If you have questions you think I can answer, feel free to pm me.

I'm very sorry to hear about your son Curlygirl.  I'm hoping that you all stay strong to get through this trying time and that Jimmy recovers in no time.  Take care.

Oh my God, Curlygirl.  :'(  *HUGSSSSSSSSSSS*

You and Jimmy and your entire family will definitely be in my thoughts and prayers. And even my beau in MI has said that he will be praying for you guys as well. Be strong and be blessed.

I am so sorry to hear about your little boy.  :-[  You will be in my thoughts and prayers and my little Morgans as well.  She is learning to say prayer before bed and I will add Jimmy and your family to her list. Take care.

Thanks everyone! :'( :-*  It feels like family here.  Does anyone know an alternative treatment for chemotherapy?He started that today and im worried about how it will make him feel and look. I wish there was  some holistic/ homeopathy / natural way to heal this in kids. Please share your stories and tips. This is new to us and we are  devestated.  I just found out today that my husbands first cousin had (ALL) Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (same as Jimmy).  My husbands family does have types of cancer that run in his family. Its in the blood. My family does not have any types of cancer that i know of. Doc says it can be genetics that play a role in this.   We need your prayers. God Bless.

Your family will be in my thoughts, and if it does not offend you, I'd be happy to light a candle for Jimmy.  :)

I would encourage you to stick with chemo. It's tough, but there is no soft alternative for it (otherwise everyone would choose that, I'd imagine...). Cancer is a serious disease and as such, the side effects that are allowed for cancer medicines are huge compared to what would be allowed for cures for lesser illnesses. There's no way around that- you will just have to stick through everything the doctor orders. Remember, that other children have gone through the same, and have been healed. It might be a good idea to find a peer support group where you could meet other families in the same situation- I'm sure your clinic will have contact information.
One treatment at a time is the way to go- and remember, that if one treatment is bad, the next one may not be so bad. How a certain treatment visit goes, depends on many things.

However, I believe that "soft" treatments have their place in cancer treatment, in supporting role. Modern medicine is effective, but it is harsh and quite heartless. When choosing a soft therapy, ask Jimmy what he would like. If he finds touch comforting, then massage, shiatsu, stone massage and the like might be good. Or he might like aromatherapy. Music can also be therapeutic, as well as silence- whichever he likes best. In any case, a holistic therapy should be something that he likes and finds comforting and uplifting. The goal of soft treatments would be to make him feel as good as possible (and thus stronger, so the treatments go better).
I also think that it's important that you keep his life as normal as possible (which might not be much). Doctors perceive people often as illnessess attached to a life support system, so family and friends have the job of remembering that in spite of his illness, Jimmy is still a little boy who is besides being ill, growing up all the time. He still needs support, play (when he feels up to it), laughter and someone to say "no" when he behaves badly.

Hope this helps.
Yes, keep us posted, we'll be here for you.

Oh no! How awful! Sad...
Hang in there! Jimmy will need all your support and positive thoughts to help him go through this ordeal. I so hope and wish for you to come out of this storm winners.
I'll keep your family and your son in my thoughts and prayers.
Keep strong.

How scary!  I truly wish you all the best and hope he has as an easy a time as possible with the chemo.  
my aunt just got diagnosed with breast cancer, although i suppose it's technically a relapse since she already had a mastectomy from a previous diagnosis a few years back.  it's so stressful on everyone involved.

i'm so sad for you, what a rotten thing to happen.
stay brave though!

Curly22, I just saw your shocking news.  I am in a rush so I have not read past your first input.  I wanted to take a minute to tell you how sorry I am that Jimmy is so ill.  I will certainly keep him and you in my prayers.  I hope you and Jimmy get through this horrible thing alright and that it is as 'painless' for him (and you) as possible.  Good luck, I will be watching to see what happens and how you manage.

Curlygirl - I will keep you, Jimmy and your family in my thoughts and prayers.  You already know this will be a tough road to go down, but keep in mind, this is a curable disease and Jimmy is young - I'm sure he will be strong and get thru this.

Keep us up to date on his status - we are all sending positive, healing thoughts your way.

Curlygirl, you and Jimmy are in my prayers.

Dear Friends,


  Thankyou for your support during this difficult time. I feel as if the rug has been pulled out from underneath us.     The chemotherapy is making little jimmy ill, tired, and his golden brown locks starting to fall out in clumps.  :'(  It is hard to watch him hurting. Thankyou for your prayers and bless you all. I pray jimmy gets well and all the kids at the hospital who are sick.  


                                                            Love,

                                                             Curlygirl

Ah Curlygirl,we're right there with you in spirit and thoughts!  You hang in there,girl!!!!

Hang in there Curlygirl.  I am sorry you are all having such a terrible time.  You are all in my prayers.

JD

Curlygirl22,  I just found out about Jimmys cancer  :'(.  I will start praying immediately and I will make a prayer request for him this Sunday b4 the whole congregation.  God will hear.  I will also keep holding him up in prayer daily.  God Bless you and keep strong.

Debr

You and your family are still in my prayers, Curlygirl.

This is going to be a difficult stage, but I know that God will watch over you and give you everything you need to get through this. Stay strong.

I'm so so sorry Curlygirl  :'(  :'( your family and lil Jimmy will be in my thoughts and prayers.

i pray this will be as painless as possible.......the most important thing right now is for you to stay by him

please keep us updated

.....tell lil Jimmy that we love him

Thanks Curlygirl, Angelspun, Debr, Joeydog,  and Beesan. :-*  Thanks to all your prayers and God's mercy,    Jimmy is in remission.   ;D  That means that there is no active cancer cells in his body. Thankgod for that. We were glad when the doctors told us.  He has lost about more than 50% of his hair and his scalp is very sensitive and visible.  When he looked in the mirror after he had lost his hair he said he didnt want anyone to see him like this.  :'(That broke my heart. He is only 5 years old,  yet hair still means so much to him.  He wears lots of hats and hopefully it will grow back after chemotherapy.  Nurses told us it might grow back a different color or texture. Thankgod he still has some hair left. It felt like it felt out overnight. He is doing good and is playing.  It is ironic but we are saying"Thankgod he has the good lukemia". I never thought i would be saying that. He has a curable lukemia called (ALL) Aute Lymphomatic Luekemia.  His back has been hurting alot and he has been requesting lots and lots of back massages.   I hope no other longlocker ever has to go through this with there kids.    


                                                                   Love Always,

                                                                    xoxo Curlygirl

OH what GREAT news about the remission.  I am sooooo happy for you and Jimmy.  It is also great news that his leukemia is curable.  You must be so relieved!!!

In time his hair will be back, his back will feel better and he will be a happy boy again.  I am just so sorry you all had to go through this.

JD

I'm so happy for your family, Curlygirl! May Jimmy always stay healthy from now on! *hug*

And don't worry to terribly much about the hair, after my dad finished his chemo, his hair grew back thicker than it was before! It was even mostly dark again, rather than grey.

I'm so glad to hear that Jimmy is doing well.  I understand what you mean about the 'good' kind of leukemia.  Medical science is such a blessing that they can now cure kids of this kind of cancer.  

I am happy to hear that Jimmy is doing better.  God bless!

Very good news about the remission.  :)  I'm so happy for you guys!
Also very good that his kind of cancer is curable.
Just be sure that he keeps going in for treatments as long as is necessary. My grandmother stopped getting treatments right after her cancer went into remission and about 15 years later, it came back stage 4 and spread...she didn't last long after that.  :'(

Wonderful news,Curlygirl!!!  I am so happy for you,your family and for Jimmy!  You must be so elated!

I am just now seeing this thread!  My habit is to visit a few categories and then move on to other things I have to do on line.  I am sorry I did not see this sooner.

I am so sorry you have had to deal with this.   I am truly sorry.    :-[

I am thrilled, though, that your sweet baby is in remission!  I hope he is cured and you never, ever have to deal with this again!

Lynn