CHASE AWAY CANCER

Peace and Joy

Chase with the vascular access team in pre-procedure

On Tuesday, Chase had his big scans. The wait for news has felt endlessly long this week, but the call came yesterday afternoon…

Dear ones… in an unprecedented move, Chase’s body appears to be healing itself from a significant iron overload, his liver looking better now on the MRI than it did two years ago.

We laughed on the phone, his nurse and I, because we both know Chase and the absolute rarity of a moment like this.

In addition, the growth near his kidney appears to be an enlarged lymph node – which is even more good news.

The radiology team did note that there seems to be a proliferation of swollen lymph nodes (and new lymph nodes since the last scan) in his abdomen. However, none of them show a mass or signs of being cancerous at this point.

As a mama who worries, I asked his oncology team about these new lymph nodes, the growing and enlarging pieces. I used words like ‘lymphedema‘ and ‘lymphoma‘ because it’s Chase and I think about these things for him.

But in the most perfect Advent moment, I was told this…: “Not now… We’ll check again when he has his brain/spine scan in the spring, and if there’s no change, we will know that our assessment now holds true.”

Sometimes, the endless Chase waiting feels like a weight, but this particular time feels poignant and beautiful because in its own little way, our wait is a heart reflection of The Wait, this season… Advent: like mute Zechariah, like awestruck Mary, like a nation in silence and a world in pain, we wait for the things we hold close in wonder to prove true.

…so we wait with Chase once again – the same as usual, but not the same. And we celebrate these gifts of a scan where –miraculously – Chase’s body is doing something helpful for itself, and there are no immediate follow ups or treatment or next steps needed.

And we’ll know the rest in time, yes?

Merry Christmas, dear ones.

Moment by moment.

[The next appointment will be January 5th, 2022 to scan for thyroid cancer growth]

THANK YOU

See us running and hugging and freaking out a little? …crazy joy smiles on our faces?

Today, that’s what we’re doing because 1) our miracle boy turned 12 years old yesterday, and 2) because you put together the MOST AMAZING action in the last two days.

In less than 48 hours, the Chase Away Cancer community and friends gathered OVER $13,000 for Lurie Children’s Hospital and the Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation in honor of Chase’s 12 years!

You guys!

YOU DID IT!!!!!

I wish you could have heard the gasp Chase let out when I told him the news.

Dear ones… this was a VERY GOOD THING that happened this weekend.

From the bottom of our hearts –

THANK YOU

Moment by moment

[all photos: Margaret Henry Photography]

He’s 12 Today

Last night, I was reflecting on the start of Chase’s life. Perhaps some of you have seen this before, but this (above) is the first photo I have of Chase and with Chase. This picture never stops being amazing to me because he came so fast and was placed on my chest so fast with such a deep scream that I actually watched life flow into him, turning him pink.

Can you see it?

Can you see who he is today in this tiny scrap of human in my arms?

Another reason I never stop being amazed at this picture is because I had absolutely no idea what lay ahead of us and how many miracles lay in store for this sweet, unexpected life. I had no idea how much I’d cry… or laugh…

Did you know that Chase was born 12 months and 5 days after his older brother? To say he was a surprise to us would be an understatement, and yet, it underscores something I know with my whole heart… Chase was meant to be on this earth.

He followed fast on brother’s heals.

He came fast and screaming into the world.

He hasn’t stopped fighting since.

And this is one of his personal favorite pictures because I’m in a hospital bed with nurses and gloves and masks around me…and there was an IV in my hand. And so I reflected on these picture things last night, as I wrapped presents and prepared for now – this day.

Twelve… It’s so insane to me! I remember the day the doctors told us “Don’t think too far ahead… let’s just try and get him to age three.”

Isn’t life amazing? …and so are you! Yesterday alone, the day before alone, you raised over $7,000 in Chase’s “12 For 12″ fundraiser.

Dear ones, my heart is so full. These dollars will do so much good. Think about this: somewhere this day, a woman like me is holding her baby – like Chase – in her arms for the first time, having no idea how much she’s going to need Lurie Children’s and foundations like ARFF someday. And when she wakes up one day and realizes the need… we will have already been there – doing our best – because Chase turned 12.

Life is precious.

Moment by moment.

[To donate in celebration of Chase or to share with a friend, click THE LINK – thank you!]

12 For 12 – A Cause, A Celebration

ANNOUNCING…. “12 FOR 12” …!! [Chase’s birthday fundraiser]

Can you believe it? By all rights and data, our precious Chase should have never seen a 3rd year, let alone a 12th birthday! Yet, here we are and Chase still lives and breathes joy into our family and the world around him. And on December 12th – 12/12 – he will officially be 12. A golden birthday for a golden boy. He is a miracle and we are so thankful.

This year, Chase had a very special request for his birthday fundraiser (which is running an extra day – so the whole weekend!). He wanted the money equally divided between Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and the Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation – two of his absolute favorites.

We can’t think of a more fitting plan! Lurie has brought Chase life more times than we can count, and the Rizzo Foundation has instilled so much hope – and Hope and Life go hand in hand in so many precious ways.

So after much discussion with our Lurie and Rizzo families, THIS PAGE was put together. All the funds will rest there, so we can see a grand total, and then when all is said and done, the Rizzo Family will write a check for half of the total, on Chase’s behalf, to Lurie Children’s – because of YOU, dear ones!

Would you consider making a donation? You can give $12 (or a multiple of 12…or more!) in honor of Chase’s 12 years. Every dollar counts – and it feels like it counts double this year – as the dollars will go to help a child like Chase and a family like ours – often in their most stressful, heartbreaking moments – both in the hospital with Lurie and around the country with ARFF.

With your help, we can contribute to research, resources and encouragement for so many children like Chase.

On behalf of the fighters and families supported by Lurie Children’s Hospital and the Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation…

THANK YOU.

**PLEASE feel FREE to share the fundraiser link far and wide!!**

Waiting Well

Up until 5:30 on November 2nd, I could have told you Chase’s appointments and the general expectations through the end of this 2021 year. Everything was laid out…scheduled… neat, even. (…as much as we ever get with Chase)

But on November 2nd at 5:30, right as I was in the kitchen making dinner, I got a call from the oncology team, the result of which was that Chase needs more blood work and an MRI of his liver and kidneys.

Dear ones, it’s a long and complicated explanation full of damages and inexplicable issues, and I’m sure everything will unfold at some point, but suffice to say that there is a chance that his liver is struggling through transfusion-related damage. And while they’re looking at his liver in the scan, they want to look at his kidneys too, because there is a noticeable growth there.

It’s more than possible that this is just a precautionary measure, and the growth is benign, but the news definitely surprised us. And honestly, it’s hard to hear that anything is growing in or on Chase – ever.

Since that phone call, our minds have gone a hundred places and our hearts beat a rhythm of post trauma. And if I’m being honest, I’ll probably continue to vacillate between “don’t be silly, it’s nothing!” and “they said the spot in his thyroid was nothing too” until the tests are done and read.

And that, oh that… that done-ness is a ways ahead of us yet. For reasons that only God himself knows, the earliest scan date is December 21st. So we will move through the holidays, through Chase’s birthday, through these next weeks in a season of more-than-usual waiting.

How we long to not just survive the wait, but thrive in the wait – to truly wait well.

The Saturday morning before I received the call from his team, I took Chase for early blood work and it was freezing, rainy, and dark. When I voiced worry and weather-complaining words, Chase said this, and it feels timely:

“Mom, don’t worry. Jesus has lighted our way in the dark. He will do it again. It will be okay.”

And really…there’s no better reminder: He is light in the darkness and peace in the wait. It is well with our souls and our wait.

So we’ll sit with this a while longer…

Moment by moment.

While my plan is to keep a chipper attitude and show God that I am a good student so he will bring my waiting to a close, God wants something even better for me. Rather than end my waiting, he wants to bless my waiting.”
Betsy Childs Howard, Seasons Of Waiting