We believe in miracles… and yes, we are asking for three miracles. It’s a tall order, but we remain steadfast in our faith Kellan is in God’s gracious hands.
The outpouring of support has been absolutely incredible over the last 8 weeks. We cannot begin to express our gratitude to each and every one of you. We want to start by saying thanks…thanks for the prayers, love, messages, texts, calls, emails, meals, groceries, laundry, pick-ups/drop-offs, donations, fundraisers, cards, gifts, virtual calls and sharing Kellan’s story with others asking for continued prayers. We and most importantly Kellan can feel the massive amounts of support from around the world. He is without a doubt wrapped in love.
Wednesday marked our 1/2 way mark of Kellan’s radiation plan. Kellan is receiving high dose full brain and spine proton radiation at UPENN via CHOP, Monday through Fridays for 30 sessions. Yes, it is his full brain radiation, yes we know the long term effects and risks. You may have already read/heard Kellan has the more aggressive strand of Medulloblastoma. When this tumor metastasizes the tumor cells travel/float throughout his cranial spinal fluid and can result in spinal lesions. In order to give our little guy a fighting chance we opted for radiation for the best shot to tackle the tumor lesions up and down his spine.
Each day we pray for our next hurdle. Be it a successful treatment day, waking up ‘comfortable’, eating his calories, accessing his port… we live in the moment as best we can. That has been our saving grace, one day at a time! Kellan has been incredible through all of this (photo proof below). He is a light of love and laughter everyday for the nurse and is now mad at me on Saturdays, when we aren’t going to treatment.
We can use a little extra help tomorrow: Tomorrow Kellan will get an MRI to help plan additional treatment on his spinal tumors. We are asking for prayers for a clear MRI with good clarity to show the doctors exactly what they need to see. Since radiation causes inflammation, that can affect the MRI results. Since you are reading, I will also share our long-term miracle requests because Kellan’s case is a little complicated.
Miracle #1 – Kellan’s body responds to radiation and chemotherapy, killing all the tumors in his spine and the remaining tumor cells in his cranial spinal fluid. Yes, we need both radiation and chemo to work!
Miracle #2 – Kellan does not relapse. This subgroup of Medulloblastoma is known to come back with a vengeance, within 1-3 year after clear scans.
Miracle #3 – Kellan’s treatment over the next 10 months (6 weeks radiation, 7 months chemotherapy) does not cause major long-term damage affecting his overall quality of life. (The long list of side effects and risks breaks my heart, but so does the thought of life without him.)
Again thank you for your love, support and most importantly prayers.
In love and faith,
Kristin (Mike, Parker & Kellan)
PS. I have been documenting our mini-miracles, which seem to happen often. Stay tuned