There were no symptoms.
Mason woke up Sunday night / Monday morning at 1am in excruciating hip pain. We thought it was growing pains. His fever started later on Monday. On Tuesday, it was 102 with meds. The fever was growing and his pain was growing. Our regular pediatrician couldn’t see us, but her sister (who we had never seen before for Mason and now we truly believe we were MEANT to see HER that day) was able to see us. She thought he may have had a joint infection and said that our local ER wouldn’t be able to handle it. She recommended we pack our suitcases and drive to the Woodlands Texas Children’s for their ER and resources.
We did just that. We arrived around 7pm that same day at Texas Children’s in the Woodlands. They ran a blood test and when seeing the amount of immature blood cells in circulation we were told by the most wonderful ER doctor with amazing bedside manner that leukemia may be on the table.
Additional bloodwork confirmed that it was leukemia, and we were transferred via ambulance (Mason’s first ride. He was impressed) to the downtown Houston Texas Children’s -which is world renowned for their pediatric oncology care. We arrived around 3am Wednesday morning -12 hours after our pediatrician appointment. They said it was between two leukemia types: ALL and AML. We tested later that day and it was revealed that it was the preferred of the two. Thank God!
B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL)
Mason’s journey was set: 4 days of in-patient chemo, 6 months of aggressive chemo, and 2 years of maintenance chemo. With all this done, he should be CURED for life. This is our understanding of his treatment, and we have faith that this day will come. We know that God has us covered.
So far, Mason’s had a lot of testing and an ambulance ride within just a week. We know, Lord willing, that the next 2.5 years will be filled with more tests, an immense amount of medications, and should Mason ever have another fever, it’ll be another ambulance ride or possible life flight.
Until now, we have never put Hayley’s health insurance to the test. When we were on our way to the hospitals, we didn’t care what the costs were for any of these tests. We were just thankful to be there for each other and for each bit of good news that we received from Mason’s lab results. We trust that God will provide, however, we are not ignorant of the bills and know they will start to come.
We are covered both spiritually and physically, but we have had a few requests from friends and family specifically asking for other physical ways they could help us. We know fundraiser has helped others through their trials, and while this will definitely support us financially, we express that no one feels obligated to give.
Psalm 23 has spoken to us this week and is a passage we hold close to our hearts. Our cup is surely overflowing.
All of our love and deep thanks,
The Tutt Family
