Neuroblastoma - Todd's Story

Todd's Posting - On Saturday we all went to the hospital to visit the twins. Zach and my mom met us in the cafeteria and we took turns playing with him outside the NICU as he is too young to go in to see his brothers. By mid-afternoon, we decided to take Zach and run some errands in order to give my mom some extra time with them given that she was leaving the next day. We had just left Target and Carters (trying to buy some preemie clothes) when Dr. Troyer from the NICU called. Asher had an ultrasound on Friday and we had been waiting for the results. She said that there was blood flow into the cyst on his right kidney and that it looked like neuroblastoma, a cancer commonly found in infants and young children. She said that she was referring us to pediatric cancer experts from Children's Hospital to determine the next steps for assessment and treatment options. Although we knew that Asher had a cyst on his right kidney, the early reports we received were that it was a simple cyst and did not appear to be cancerous. Amy had some suspicions while I was more prone to believe the good news.

With one phone call our world was devastated. We both tried to be strong because Zach was in the car, but that didn't prevent us from weeping. We immediately returned to the hospital to see our little boy who was carrying a burden that no infant should have to carry. Both of us did the one thing that we could do, turn to God for support and ask him to heal our son. The rest of the day was raw and an emotional roller coaster. I found myself breaking down every time I tried to talk about it. One moment I would be composed and the next minute I would start to cry for my son.

We both researched the condition and found some great info on both the American Cancer Society website as well as Mayo Clinic's site.