Thank you to all of our friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors who have been supporting us since January with our unexpected journey with cancer. Our sweet baby boy Louie was diagnosed on January 25, 2022 at age 4 with neuroblastoma. After four rounds of chemo and major surgery to remove his tumor and left kidney, Louie is now disease-free and in remission. On September 2, 2022, we found out that Mike (Louie's dad) had a mass in his right kidney that was suspicious for renal cell carcinoma. He had a radical nephrectomy on September 19, 2022. His tumor was biopsied and we found out on September 23, 2022 that it was indeed renal cell carcinoma. On October 5, we were told that Mike’s cancer was Stage 2-A. Luckily, Mike did not need any further treatment at this time for the renal cell carcinoma. He will continue with regular scans, as the doctors are more concerned about secondary cancers occurring than the RCC returning. He is also battling an unrelated eye disease that causes blurred vision and corneal issues, so he’s continuing varied treatments to try and solve that issue. He continues to work fulltime. Louie is about to graduate from pre-K. He will go to kindergarten in the fall. He enjoys gymnastics, soccer, and swim lessons. Ethan is finishing up his first year of college here in Columbus and continues to work at Swensons in Hilliard. Maggie is about to graduate from Hilliard Davidson and works at Figlio. She will be moving to main campus at Ohio State in August to major in computer science engineering. Thank you all for being there for us. We hope this is the last storm before the calm.
We appreciate everyone's help, but definitely hate asking for it! If all we received from anyone was good energy, thoughts, or prayers for Louie and Mike, we would be so thankful. Anything above and beyond that is a huge bonus. We are hoping Mike can return to work at the end of October. He is feeling better every day, but we are trying to make sure he’s taking it easy and not doing too much in the meantime. We do not have a Go Fund Me or similar fundraiser. We have managed the costs of Louie's treatments and related expenses with our current resources. We will do the same with Mike's upcoming surgery. We don't NEED anything, but we appreciate the help we're receiving in various ways. But if you're still reading this and REALLY want to do something specific, here are some ideas that we love: 1) Donating blood, if able. 2) Sign up to be on the bone marrow registry, at bethematch.org 3) Donate your time, talent, or treasure to Nationwide Children's Hospital, in any amount, at any time--it all helps! 4) Get vaccinated/boosted for COVID-19 and the Flu. 5) Support Ronald McDonald House (in Central Ohio, or your local chapter if you live elsewhere). 6) Perform an act of kindness, big or small, especially for a family or individual working through a tough medical diagnosis and treatment. 7) Check out other organizations that support pediatric cancer research, such as Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation. We just raised $2,000+ for their Million Mile challenge. We can still take donations on this page through the end of the year. We would gladly have everyone donate to ALSF in lieu of birthday or Christmas gifts for us! The link to our page is: https://www.alexslemonade.org/mypage/2940649 It’s important to us that we are able to earmark the money raised specifically for Neuroblastoma research. ALSF is an amazing organization that has funded millions of dollars of childhood cancer research. Louie has surely already benefited from their work. 8) Please prioritize your health via regular medical screenings, and get checked out if something isn't right! Both Louie and Mike's cancers could have been missed if we had ignored minor symptoms that just seemed "off". Take care of yourself because we want all of you around for a long, long time.