I’ve spent the last three nights awake, trying to find the right words to describe the nightmare Nick and I are living through. On Thursday, I took Nixon to the doctor because he had been complaining about leg pain for a few weeks. We thought it was just growing pains and tried everything we knew to help him feel better. I hoped the doctor would simply give us more ideas on how to manage it.
After a quick X-ray, I was ready to leave so we could head to St. George for a baseball tournament. But when the doctor came back, he asked to speak to me in private. He showed me the X-rays and pointed out a few tumors on Nixon’s femur. Within hours, we were at Primary Children’s Hospital, checking into the oncology department. Nixon had packed his backpack with stuffed animals, his vet kit, his iPad, and some army coloring sheets. That night, they took more X-rays and drew blood for lab tests.
On Friday morning, Nixon had a CT scan, followed by an MRI and a bone scan. That afternoon, he went into surgery so doctors could take a sample of the tumor to see if it was cancer. Three hours later, we got the heartbreaking news — the tumors in his leg were cancerous. While he was still in surgery, doctors placed a port in his chest to prepare for chemotherapy treatments. When he came back, he was sore and exhausted.
Later that night, we met with the oncologist to learn more about osteosarcoma and the treatment plan. We were told that the cancer is aggressive and has already spread to his lungs, where there are several small tumors. Our sweet Nixon is now in the fight for his life. Chemotherapy starts this week, and after about ten weeks, doctors will check how his body is responding.
You can follow his journey at NixonStrong. If you’d like to send a card, the address is P.O. Box 95455, South Jordan.
Credit to the original writer (with full respect).
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