Kellan H.
California
Birth Date: August 11, 2014
Diagnosis: High-Risk B-Cell ALL
Theme: Landmarks & Travel
Due Date: April 1, 2020
Kellan's Story
Kellan is kind, thoughtful, and always eager to help. He can be quiet and shy, but don't let that fool you. He is one smart cookie. When he was 8 months old, we put him in swimming class and he learned how to float. At 18 months old, he knew all his ABCs, 123s and shapes. When he was 2 years old, he graduated from his swimming class, started word recognition, and slowly began reading on his own. We still remember at 3 years old, his preschool teacher pulled us aside to comment that she was shocked about his reading skills, and that he knew all the planets in the solar system. As parents, we are so proud of him. He loves school and adores his teachers and classmates.
On April 15th, 2019, everything suddenly changed. He was diagnosed with B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Two weeks prior, Kellan started looking tired and we thought it was allergies. On April 9th, we noticed a rash and 2 lumps on his head. We contacted his pediatrician right away and were told they were swollen lymph nodes that might be caused by allergies. On the 15th, we noticed MORE lumps on the back of his head. One was very sensitive and painful. We took him to the ER. Tests were run and he was admitted immediately. As parents, our hearts broke into a million pieces when we were informed he has Leukemia.
Kellan can no longer go to school and continue any activities for an indefinite amount of time. This is devastating news for him. He will be receiving chemotherapy for 3 years, but until 5 years later we won't know if he will be cancer free. There are also many worries about how chemo will affect his body and growth, and the many things that may go wrong.
Kellan is in active treatment which started the week he was diagnosed. He will continue treatment until August 2022. It has been hard on Kellan with many hospitalizations from side effects. We just started a very intense phase (Delayed Intensification) in November and will likely be in isolation for neutropenia during the holidays.
"THANK YOU to everyone for everything. In Kellan’s words, “I love it!” Thank you all again."
