Today is September 8th – the 8th day of Childhood Cancer Awareness month. Today I want to honor Cole Hindman. Cole’s clinic schedule was the same as Lily’s for a long time, and so we saw him and his family often, and we became friends. Cole was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) in January 2008 when he was 8 years old. He was still in treatment in January 2010 when he relapsed. The relapse meant not only more intense treatment but longer treatment, as well. Cole’s mom, Amy, made a list of what Cole endured during treatment. This list is long and daunting, but take the time to read it. THIS is what childhood cancer kids go through: It took 4 years, 8 months and 22 days. Cole spent 198 days in the hospital, had 211 clinic visits, 21 ER trips, 6 bone marrow aspirations, 41 spinal taps with 45 doses of chemo administered via spinal, 63 transfusions, 10 doses of cranial radiation, 766 doses of Mercaptopurine, 284 doses of Dexamethasone, 97 doses of Methotrexate, 8 doses of IV Methotrexate, 62 doses of IV Vincristine, 11 doses of 6-TG, 32 doses of IV ARA-C, 9 doses of IV Doxorubicin, 21 doses of IV Cytoxan, 8 doses of IV Etoposide, 10 doses of PEG (shots and IV). That’s a total of 1,353 doses of chemo! Every single child I highlight this month has a similar list from his/her treatment – some more, some less – but ALL lists are long. Treatment for childhood cancer is never easy. At one point in Cole’s treatment, he had an allergic reaction to an antibiotic and he developed a severe rash – head to toe, every part of his body was covered. At another point, he had to have his appendix removed. Cole’s treatment took several extra months because of complications. When Cole was in the 5th grade – in the middle of treatment for his relapse – his teachers awarded him the Fifth Grade Student Achievement Award, and they said (in part): “Webster defines achievement as something accomplished by bravery or by great effort, a deed worthy of praise . . .. (Cole) has endured more pain and suffering than most of us will ever endure in our lifetime, but yet has not let it defeat him and even smiled in the face of it . . . . Our class has prayed for him all year and tried to be a blessing to him and his family, but instead he has been the blessing and has taught us so many life lessons. He has taught us not to quit no matter what. Our prayer life has been strengthened as we have prayed so many times for him, and the Lord has answered each and every time . . .. We have learned to put things into proper perspectives as to what is really important in life.” Soon after Cole finished treatment (September 5, 2012), he had surgery to remove his port-a-cath. However, a clot formed where the port had been removed. As of Cole’s latest check-up, the blood clot has not changed in size – and that’s concerning for his parents. It’s concerning for Cole, too, because until the blood clot is gone, he can’t participate in contact sports or go to theme parks. He has other late effects, as well: his body is still not producing antibodies the way it should; his growth is slow – he’s 15 years old but his skeletal age is 12.9 yrs.; he continues to have joint pain; and he deals with cognitive learning impairment, as well. Cole kept up with his schoolwork despite missing school for so long. His chemo and radiation were structured towards his central nervous system and that caused memory issues (the “cognitive learning impairment” mentioned earlier). Can you imagine a child keeping up with schoolwork and making almost all A’s while his brain just wasn’t working as quickly as it should because of being bombarded with all that chemo and radiation? That takes extraordinary determination and perseverance! Qualities that Cole has in abundance. His parents, Amy and Justin, are delighted that, once again, 2 years out from treatment, Cole is able to enjoy most of the activities he loves. Cole is 15 years old now and a freshman in high school. He enjoys swimming, loves airsoft and off-roading on 4-wheelers. Cole, you are very special to our family. You fought an exceptionally hard battle and you came out a winner. We love you! Note in the photos that there is one of Cole with Hunter Bug (that I wrote about Sept. 5th), and also one doing the Hyundai handprints with Lily (Sept. 1st) and Ali (coming up Sept. 16) and Dr. Ho.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Sep 2014 09:00:17 +0000
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