Anthony R.

From Mom:

April of 2016 is when it all began our son Anthony came down with a very high fever and for weeks we saw doctors and was in and out of the ER. Everyone just continue to tell us that he was sick and had a really bad cold. Finally in May he was diagnosed with walking pneumonia he was admitted into the hospital for seven days of IV antibiotics we were so relieved that finally it would all be over. But to our dismay in June of 2016 Anthony still was not getting better so the doctors asked if they could preform a bone marrow biopsy "just to be on the safe side" and of course never expecting The "C” word we quickly agreed.

On June 21, 2016 our lives would forever be changed the Doctor walked in and asked if I wanted to talk in the hall my heart just sank I thought I was ready for what she was wanting to tell me but I was not. At just 2 yrs old our precious baby boy was diagnosed with AML leukemia M1.

I don't know if we will ever be able to put to words how we felt that day. All I know is we had never prayed so hard in our lives and the more we prayed this absolute peace came to us and has never left. Everything else happened so quickly. We were sent straight to St. Jude's in Memphis from Florida. We never even had the opportunity to say goodbye to family, friends, or even my job.

Our whole life was different. We had been receiving treatment for 3 months in Memphis and I am happy to say Anthony was leukemia free. Unfortunately, our journey was not over we also discovered in that process that Anthony was missing his chromosome 7, which means without a bone marrow transplant, the leukemia would come back. So we now prepared for our next fight.

In October of 2016 Anthony had his first bone marrow transplant. Howard was the donor for his first transplant we were not able to find a perfect match. Anthony quickly was in remission and doing well. We stayed in Memphis until July of 2017. We were finally able to return to Florida. We were so excited! We had such high hopes - our son was finally in remission and doing well.

Then in March 2018 we went in for routine blood work and we once again received that devastating phone call telling us Anthony’s cancer was back. At this point everything was just a blur that expression “having the wind knocked out of you” could not be more fitting for this moment in our lives. But this time everything was different. Our daughter who was now in kindergarten was not able to just pick up and leave so this meant me and Anthony would separate from Howard and my daughter Trinity. So immediately me and Anthony got on a plane and headed to Memphis. Howard stayed behind in Florida with our daughter Trinity so that she may complete school and he could continue to work. This was probably the hardest decision we’ve ever had to make as a family, as husband and wife, and as a mom and dad.

The doctors at St. Jude’s immediately set us up for our second bone marrow transplant this time they would use me as the donor. It was imperative that everything moved very quickly as they felt Anthony’s cancer was very aggressive. So in May 2018 Anthony had his second bone marrow transplant. Things were quiet for just a little while but this time Anthony‘s body did not respond as well as it did with his first transplant. In June 2018 he already had genetic markers showing on his bone marrow biopsy and the doctors were anticipating his leukemia to come back. Then in October 2018 Anthony developed leukemia tumors our hearts were broken.

To this day there are no known cure for leukemia tumors there is a low-dose chemo that is used to help treat and alleviate symptoms. Then in June 2019 Anthony relapsed for the third time with his leukemia. Over the last year we have gone back-and-forth from Florida to Memphis for treatments radiation and chemo etc. But as of October 2019 Anthony’s leukemia is now 3% of his bone marrow once again we will head back to Memphis to see of options for his treatment. So now as a family we lean on God for our answers and for Anthony’s health. We continue to pray for him and his cure. We are blessed as a family we are just so happy to have every single day. We do not currently know what the future holds for our son but we do know one thing that his life is making a difference it is impacting people all over. So we will continue to live every single day #Anthonystrong💪💛

November 2019:

Today I had the pleasure of meeting with Anthony’s family today and celebrating an early birthday with them. We both share a birthday in the same week so my little Sag buddy, I know you are strong. #anthonystrong. Anthony and his family will be heading to St. Jude’s for more treatment in a few weeks and Chasin A Dream is honored to be able to assist them. Anthony really needs your prayers right now as he is battling hard.