In honor of childhood cancer awareness month SU2C has partnered with People Against Childhood Cancer (PAC2) to bring you profiles on a few of the many children and their families affected by cancer. Carter's mother, Christy Richards, shares their family's journey with Carter from cancer patient to survivor. On May 9, 2008, my husband and I took our 8-year-old, Carter, to Scottish Rite Children's Hospital. We were expecting to get some blood work done to find out why his blood counts were so low from a recent virus he'd recovered from, and be sent home. What actually happened was any parent's worst nightmare. The next eight hours were a blur as doctors expressed to us their "concern" over some "suspicious" cells. They admitted Carter to the hospital and we awaited the results of a bone marrow test. On Tuesday, May 13, 2008, Carter was diagnosed with ALL (acute lymphoblastic leukemia).
The beginning of our journey was a whirlwind, full of navigating pills, steroids, and hospitals. The next three years seemed like a lifetime, and our lives were filled with things like,; chemo, ER trips, more pills, spinal taps, infusions and constant worry. I remember wishing that we could just jump forward and get to the happy ending when Carter would get to be a healthy kid again and be cancer free. I could not stand the thought of this becoming our way of life and the burden this would place on Carter and his two brothers.
If we had missed the journey, it is true that we could've skipped a lot of heartache and pain; however, I prefer to think about the blessings and memories our family was able to make even in the midst of cancer. Holidays, trips, and birthdays that weren't ruined after all, they were just different. The people, all the people that helped us, cared for us, and cured us. Carter's brothers may have had a burden to bear while he went through treatment, but they shouldered it well and I hope, learned huge lessons from it.
It is September once again and we are so thankful to have Carter still with us proudly wearing a new title, survivor. After over 3 years of treatment, Carter took his last chemo pills on July 11th, 2011 and started his 4th grade year cancer-free. Two weeks after finishing chemo, Carter fulfilled one of his dreams by grabbing a helmet and pads to begin playing football. Our goal is simple and has never changed. No child should ever have to walk this path. We need cures and we need better, less invasive, and less damaging treatments.
Our family has pledged to continue to fight until no child and their families have to suffer from cancer. This month, our family proudly wears gold ribbons in support of childhood cancer awareness and encourages everyone to keep all these little warriors and their families in your prayers.
