I have spent the last three nights wide awake, searching for 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 of leg pain for a couple of weeks. We had tried everything we knew to help with what we thought were just growing pains, and I hoped the doctor would give us new ideas for relief.
After a quick X ray I was eager to get moving so we could head down to St. George for a baseball tournament. But when the doctor returned, he asked to speak with me privately. He showed me the images and pointed out a couple of tumors on Nixon’s femur. Within hours we were checked into the oncology department at Primary Children’s Hospital. Nixon had packed his backpack with stuffed animals, his little vet kit, his iPad, and army coloring sheets, not knowing the battle he was about to begin.
That night Nixon had another X ray and blood work sent to the labs. On Friday morning he went through a CT scan, an MRI, and a bone scan. By the afternoon he was in surgery so the doctors could take a sample from the tumor to see if it was cancer. Three hours later we learned the devastating truth. The tumors were cancerous. While Nixon was still in surgery, doctors placed a port in his chest for upcoming chemotherapy treatments.
When he came back he was sore and exhausted. Later that night we sat with the oncologist to learn more about osteosarcoma and the treatment plan ahead. That is when we found out the cancer had already spread to his lungs with numerous small tumors. Our sweet Nixon is in the fight of his life.
Chemotherapy begins this week and in about ten weeks we will check to see how his body is responding. If you would like to follow his journey you can find us at NixonStrong. Cards can be sent to P.O. Box 95455, South Jordan.
Credit to the original family and their strength. Respect 🫡