021121Chemoday

IN his own words

 

Noah Alan Thompson

Noah was born in September of 2014.  A big healthy 8 pound 6-ounce baby boy!  Dad helped deliver Noah!  It was a thrill for both Mom and Dad since Noah would be their first, and the only boy.

By all accounts he was the perfect baby.  Not fussy at all and was developing, (rolling over, crawling and walking) exactly as expected.  When he first learned to talk his speech was poor so he was enrolled in speech therapy to help with some of the more difficult sounds made with letter combinations.  Other than that he was a rough and tumble little boy.

Over time his development was by the book.  Height, Weight and other developmental markers were completely normal.

Noah developed into a very kind and giving young boy.  Almost never fought over toys or pretty much anything.  If you asked for him to give you something he was playing with he would say "Sure, Here you go"  Completely unlike most children.  There is a video here of Noah (in the hospital) where his mother mentioned how great his cookie looked and he instantly offered to give her the rest of his cookie.

Noah loves to play outdoors, fish, climb and swing on the playground.  He also loves to help Dad work in the shop.  At about age 4 Noah wanted to work with tools and was found often in the shop working (or pretending to work) on something.  We always asked what he was doing and his answer was generally "I am fixing this or building that".  We even purchased a small tool pouch and filled it with different types of hand tools and batteries operated items like flashlights, screwdrivers, and stud finders.  Things that would make noise or light up in some fashion.

Amazing Imagination!

Some of the things Noah could come up with all on his own were simply beyond description.  He could make stuff all on his own and then tell you the complete history of how it was made and what it was used for.  He could play completely on his own for hours imagining that he was building a playground for other kids or designing a new rocket ship.  Give him a container of Lego's and he would stay content for hours.  Noah would consistently amaze us with his ability to create and entertain with nothing but his own mind.

Noah is a happy, kind and loving 6 year old boy.  He was always so curious about how things worked or how they were made since he was a toddler. He is always so helpful and loves to be involved with things. He was always full of energy and always on the go. He has the biggest heart I’ve ever seen in a little boy

On January 20, 2021 Noah was diagnosed with B-Cell Acute lymphocytic (lymphoblastic) leukemia (ALL). The news devastated us!

Two weeks prior to Noah’s diagnosis, Noah’s mom noticed that he did not have the energy and appetite he always had. She notices Noah was very pale with several bruises on his legs. He was walking with a slight limp and complained about his legs hurting and being very tired. Noah was taken in to see his pediatrician and several blood tests were collected and sent out.

The very next day Noah’s mom received a phone call from the pediatrician saying that the tests showed some bad news. Noah’s hemoglobin was super low. That’s what was causing the bruising and his CBC count was very low.

We were told to take Noah to the Pediatric ERI. Orlando right away and that the pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist was waiting for us to arrive. They ran several blood tests to re-confirm Noah’s numbers and they came back from the pathologist even lower.

Noah was diagnosed with B-Cell Acute lymphocytic (lymphoblastic) leukemia (ALL) and underwent a Bone Marrow Biopsy, Spinal Tap and had a PICC line put in. They also gave Noah intrathecal (IT) chemotherapy in his spine. A few hours later Noah received a chemo treatment (VinCRIStine) intravenously.

Noah was given a treatment plan that would last for two years

We are currently in the hospital with Noah in the “Introduction” phase of his treatment plan.

Noah will receive his first dose of Pegasoargase (PEG) on 1/24/2021.  We are praying his body accepts the treatment with no allergic reactions.  Noah will have another biopsy/spinal tap on 1/28/2021 to see if the chemo is doing what it should be to the cancer cells and if they are and Noah’s numbers stay stable on his own, he can be discharged for outpatient treatments.

Noah has a long journey ahead of him and his little body will be put through a lot.  He’s a strong little boy and his spirit remain positive. He is so kind and so loving.

Our hearts are literally broken knowing what Noah is going to have to go through to fight this disease.

This will be a very intense and emotional journey and we know our son is strong and a fighter!

Thank you all again for the live, support and prayers!  We feel so supported and that gives us the strength to be strong for Noah!