Total treatment will be 2 & ½ years. Felder achieved remission during the first phase of treatment. The current treatment is the consolidation phase which lasts 6 months (consisting of chemotherapy inpatient and outpatient.) 

What events led up to your diagnosis?

Felder started with leg pain mostly at night, and some pain in arms and a few headaches.  He ran a low grade fever and was more tired and achy than normal. We went to the ER and to the doctor several times.  They really could not find anything and his blood work was normal, so they thought it was viral.  It continued so we had tests ran at a local hospital and they found an abnormal bone scan.  We went to a pediatric bone doctor in Jackson. They thought it was a bone infection.  They did an MRI and put him to sleep to see what kind of infection it was.  They found no infection so they did a bone marrow aspiration.  This is how they found the leukemia.  We immediately went to Blair E. Batson Hospital for Children at UMC where they repeated the tests to confirm the diagnosis.

Briefly describe your cancer experience:

This diagnosis has been life changing for us.  We have heard of children with leukemia, but knew none personally or even dreamed something like this would happen to one of our children.  Only through strong family support and much support and prayers from our friends , family, church family, and community have we been able to make it this far.  A cancer diagnosis especially if it is your child totally changes your outlook on life.  You begin to see what things are truly important and which ones are things that you can live without.  It has been a very humbling experience.  It has made our family closer and it has matured Felder and all of us.  It has changed us in ways that we would never have imagined. 

Jessica