Luke was a happy one year old when he started showing signs of joint pains, stiff arms and legs. He was in and out of the emergency room for months. It was at one of those visits, not long after Luke’s second birthday, when everything suddenly changed. The doctors decided to send Luke to London Children’s Hospital for further tests. Dad and son were airlifted from Thunder Bay, with Mom following a few days later. Luke’s 4 year-old-sister Petra stayed with her grandparents.
In London, Luke was subjected to a variety of tests. He saw many doctors, including a neurologist and a rheumatologist for suspected arthritis. It was the haematologist who found the problem, hiding in Luke’s bones. High-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).
Treatment began and so did support from Childcan. Ronald McDonald House became a second home, until a chicken pox outbreak left the family scrambling for a hotel room. Childcan stepped in to help and they moved to the Holiday Inn for three weeks.
At Christmas, the family was reunited with their daughter at the Holiday Inn in London. In January, Petra was flown back to her grandparents until she could spend March break back in London. The next day, after her arrival in London, the world shut down due to covid. One day later and the siblings would have been parted for months. The world got very small, moving between Ronald McDonald House and the Hospital. Luke was immunocompromised, so the family were grateful that he was not exposed. The family also took drives, hiked, and spent as much time outdoors as possible.
“Childcan was there for us with so much. Gift cards, gas cards, meal vouchers, the hotel costs. They even got us an iPad with educational apps to help with schooling. Childcan was so helpful and supportive. We are so grateful. It was a scary time but I encourage others to stay strong during the journey and accept the supports that are offered to you. We had so much help from multiple sources and it helped with being 1,300kms from home. Even when treatment finished at the end of June 2020, we had to fly from Thunder Bay to London for appointments on two months out of every three. Eventually that changed to every third month, then every six months, now it’s just once a year. Life is great right now, we are blessed that Luke is doing so well. He’s a happy six-year-old boy, into hockey, loves fishing, and is looking forward to going to Disney with thanks to Make-A-Wish. Luke will be monitored until he’s 18-years-old and we hope he’ll be applying for a bursary from Childcan at that time. Our journey continues and Childcan are still there for us.”
We are so grateful to Luke’s family for sharing his story with us and already looking forward to receiving his bursary application. Until then, enjoy fishing Luke!