Henry
Kecia S. – Assisted mother of Henry (14 y/o, Osteosarcoma -bone cancer)
“As a mother I would give anything in the world to see my 14-year-old son experience a normal life without dealing with the sick days, long stays at the hospital, hair loss, surgeries, chemo treatments, and radiation therapy.
Just 2 years ago Henry’s life changed drastically with a visit to the emergency room. He started complaining of leg pains earlier that week and we really didn’t think much of it. But, when he asked for a heating pad to make the pain go away, it really concerned me. I told him to rest his leg and if it is still bothering him, we will go to the ER when he got home from school because he needed to take his final exams. The next day rolled around and when Henry got home from school his leg was swollen and he was still in pain. I immediately took him to Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital to have them take a look at his leg, which they did an x-ray on. Initially they couldn’t find anything wrong with Henry’s leg. So they sent us home and told us to follow-up with an orthopedic specialist, because it may be just a sprain to the knee area.
The following morning, I received a phone call from JDCH, asking me to please bring Henry back to the ER because they have discovered something different. When I arrived, they asked if I had any family with me and I replied “No”, it is just Henry and I here today. Then they asked if any family members could come to the hospital, because the Doctor wanted to go over Henry’s x-ray. I immediately called home and told my husband that he needed to meet us at the hospital. When my husband arrived, we stood in the emergency room, and they discussed Henry’s condition stating that it maybe cancer or an infection in his right distal femur. From that point on, Henry was admitted into the hospital where he had to stay for several days so they can run a series of test. After waiting several days, we met with the JD Oncology Group to receive the results from his test. Henry was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma in his right distal femur, and my heart just fell on the ground. I couldn’t understand how or why this has happened to my son, was there anything that I could have done differently. How can I make things all better and for this to go away? Unfortunately, it was not that easy.
Henry at the age of twelve began his battle with Cancer His first surgery took place in September 2011 was a limb salvage surgery of the right distal femur. He went through several treatments of chemotherapy and during that time the cancer metastasized to his lungs, and his left and right hip. He also had surgery to remove tumors from those areas. In February 2012, it was discovered that the tumor came back to the left hip and now is present in his spine. Because surgery is no longer an option, Henry had to radiation to those areas to alleviate the pain and has been placed under Hospice.
During all this, our financial stress was growing. Our bills were growing, and we were struggling to pay for basic living expenses. Jessica June Children’s Cancer Foundation really helped us in a time of need. They provided such a relief during such financial stress. They provided gas cards to help us travel back and forth on a daily basis for treatments as well as paid for our FPL bill, which was weighing on us and the fear of not having power loomed over our heads. We are so grateful for JJCCF, as they were there for us at a time of need!”
