On April 25^th, 2017 Sammy went to the doctor for some upper thigh leg pain.  Earlier in the month he had the same leg pain with a fever, which we thought it was because he had the flu and was just having some muscle aches.  My best friend is a nurse practitioner, and sent me a text suggesting we take him in because it was unusual that he had leg pain and fever again.

At the clinic, the doctor pushed on Sammy’s leg and it didn’t seem to be bothering him.  Right at the end of the examination, she pushed on a certain spot and he jumped.  The doctor suggested labs and an x-ray.  After the x-ray and labs, we went back to the exam room and waited.  We waited for a long time and I began to worry.  Eventually, the doctor came in and she had tears in her eyes.  She dropped the biggest bomb on our family, “Sammy has cancer.”  She showed me the x-ray and there was clearly what appeared to be a tumor in Sammy’s femur bone. 

At this time, they believed it to be an Ewing’s Sarcoma.  Sammy’s dad wasn’t at the clinic with us, so he was called and came right over.  I called close friends and close family and let the tears fall as I explained that Sammy has cancer, not sure what type and we were headed to The University of Minnesota Children’s Masonic Hospital.  Once there, the doctors and nurses were amazing.  After a biopsy, spinal tap and PET Scan, it was determined Sammy had Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.  The Leukemia had basically eaten away his femur bone and that is why it appeared he had a tumor.  This was the start of a very long journey, that still continues to this day. 

Sammy is about two and a half years into his treatment and his last treatment will be July of 2020.  Sammy is a true fighter.  Since the beginning, Sammy is always making his family laugh and constantly making his doctors and nurses laugh and shake their heads.  He has never cried and never used cancer as an excuse. He takes his daily meds without any arguments and makes each day count.  Sammy’s brain is constantly working, and he asks several hundred questions each and every day.

Sammy enjoys lacrosse, golf, basketball, baseball, football, and hanging out with his friends in the neighborhood. When stuck inside the house he loves Fortnite, Legos and his iPad.  Sammy loves school and is excelling beyond our belief. He starts 2^nd grade this fall and is super excited to be in the same school as his big brother Sid. 

Overall, dealing with childhood cancer is certainly stressful at times, but has taught us so much and brought us closer as family.  We have meet so many amazing people along the way and have gained another family with all the amazing hospital staff and The University of Minnesota Children’s Masonic. We live in a great community that has done so much to support us and we couldn’t be more thankful.  Sammy has this fight and will hopefully inspire many other children and families who are battling childhood cancer.  

*Click on the photo of Sam to see more from his session.