Beckett F
Michigan
Birth Date: February 22, 2020
Diagnosis: Atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor
Theme - monster trucks, racecars, construction trucks
Due Date: December 1,2023
Beckett's Journey
After New Year?s when we came back from Florida this year, Beckett started becoming dizzy and having
random bouts of nausea. He couldn?t move around or get his heart rate up without getting dizzy. I took them to the pediatrician where they ran a whole bunch of tests and asked us to do a blood test at the hospital. They found that he was low in iron and was anemic so they put him on iron supplements and sent us on our way. About a month after we were on iron supplements, he was not getting any better and still was getting dizzy (even more some) when he started moving around.
I called Pediatrician and told him there were something else wrong and they said let?s wait another week and see what happens. On the weekend of March 11, we ended up celebrating his 3rd birthday with family. His dizziness was the worst on this day where we couldn't hold him and turn at all. We were even at the point that he told Brett to only drive straight in the car because turning on the road was making him dizzy. Then the next day we went to the monster jam with everyone. We didn't know that that would be the last weekend that we were able to have a normal life.
The next morning we got a text message from my mother-in-law that explained how she saw Beckett this weekend and said we need to take him to the ER. We took him almost immediately and after 10 minutes of explaining his symptoms they sent him for a CAT scan because they were worried about a brain tumor. We were in shock, scared, disbelief, confusion, and angry all at the same time. When the doctor came in she told us there was a mass in his brain and we were immediately told they have gotten a bed for us at Children's Hospital in Detroit where they were going to do an MRI to confirm. MRI confirmed that there was a brain tumor in his cerebellum and we would need to do surgery first thing in the morning.
After a nine-hour surgery we were told that they were able to get as much as they could out, and we would be in ICU until he was able to leave. That night he ended up sick and on oxygen because his breathing was so labored calling it stridor. After another 4 days in the ICU they finally got his breathing under control after testing that had confirmed both forms of croup. On Saturday they finally moved us upstairs to get ready to leave. At this point he was so depressed because he did not want to be in the hospital and get poked and prodded anymore so we told the doctors we wanted him to go home now. He wanted his siblings and his Everleigh.
Three days later on March 22, exactly a month after his third birthday we got a phone call that confirmed the worst. Beckett was diagnosed with grade 4 ATRT. Atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor (ATRT) is a rare, and aggressive tumor that occurs in the brain and/or spinal cord and only happens in 1-2% of all brain tumors. Our minds immediately thought the worst. Once we got the diagnosis, we started doing research and decided that he deserves only the best hospital and in the best care. We immediately got accepted into Saint Jude's research Medical Center. From that point on it was mad chaos to try to make sure that the other kids had a place to go, the house was able to be tended to, onyx was good, the family how severe this was, everyone one wanted to see him in case the worst happened, and we had to have our bags packed for a long stay away from home. Three days later we were taking the 11-hour drive to our new journey to save our 3-year-old.
Appointment after appointment happened and two days later, we found out that the MRI showed all of the tumor was still there in the other doctors didn't get hardly anything out from the first surgery. They wanted to remove as much as possible to give Beckett the best fighting chance of survival. Finally, at 6:39pm our doctor called us about how neurosurgeon contacted her and believed he could get everything out. Finally some good news! On April 6, Beckett had his second brain surgery. After five hours they came back and told us that it was a gross total resection! They got it all out! The next 24 hours we found out that there were no cancerous spots in his kidneys, his spine, and in his spinal fluid!! After a Gross total resection in all of these things meant he went from 30% to 70%!!! We now have to do 13 treatments of brain and spine radiation and then 17 treatments of focal radiation (radiation right where the tumor was).
We then go home for 4 weeks and come back for 4-5 28 day chemotherapy cycles. After
getting everything all ready, we start day one of radiation on March 23. Our next step of our miracle journey begins!
Cancer picked the WRONG kid. Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers as our entire family's world gets turned upside down. You all have been such an amazing support group and we thank God every day for each and every one of you. God is good and he will be there with us through every step of the way!!!
