December 21, 2019

On Saturday, December 21, 2019, we heard the four dreaded words that no parent EVER wants to hear: Your. Child. Has. Cancer.

This will be a day that will be etched in our memories forever. We were absolutely devastated. Jackson had bloodwork completed two days prior during a genetics appointment which showed elevated alpha fetoprotein (AFP) tumor marker levels in his liver. A normal AFP range is below 10, and Jackson's levels were over 113,000. We were sent to the hospital on Monday, December 23rd to have a CT scan completed of his chest and abdomen, and arrangements were made for us to meet with a St. Jude Pediatric Oncology team immediately afterwards to begin discussions regarding diagnosis and treatment planning. Based off the CT scan, Jack had two tumors in his liver which were growing in size, presumably malignant and a form of liver cancer called hepatoblastoma. The only way to confirm was to complete a liver biopsy via surgery, and to attempt to remove the two masses. Surgery was scheduled for January 3, 2020. We decided to enjoy the Christmas holiday as a family and face our new, unexpected reality after the New Year.