Help Calvin Fight Osteosarcoma.
My nephew Calvin recently celebrated his 10th birthday. So imagine my surprise when my brother let me know he had been diagnosed with osteosarcoma (a type of bone cancer).
Saturday (6/7), my brother and his family were traveling to Atlanta on a family vacation. During one of their rest stops, they noticed Calvin’s leg was swelling. They took him to urgent care in Atlanta and had an x-ray done to look for any injuries. The x-ray showed a mass on his lower left fibula, and they were sent to the Children’s Hospital right away.
At the Children’s Hospital ER, they performed another x-ray and an ultrasound to rule out a possible blood clot. They also confirmed a bone mass/suspected osteosarcoma and admitted Calvin to the oncology floor for further testing. Oncology kept Calvin overnight, but the next step was an MRI, and his parents decided to return home to get further testing done and begin care. They were discharged on Sunday (6/8) and were back home in FL by Monday. The ATL hospital notified St. Joe’s Children’s Hospital in Tampa to be ready to receive Calvin, and he was admitted on Tuesday (6/10).
The doctors looked at the images from Atlanta and also suspected osteosarcoma right away, so Calvin was admitted for 4 days. An MRI, chest CT, bone scan, biopsy, and chemo port insertion were done once the MRI confirmed a cancerous mass. Several other baseline tests were performed while they were there. Calvin was discharged on Friday (6/13), and they awaited the biopsy results.
They received the confirmed diagnosis on Tuesday (6/17) that Calvin does indeed have osteosarcoma in his left fibula. He will begin treatment next week. The doctors are telling his parents that he will need 11 weeks of chemo to try and shrink the tumor, then surgery to remove it, then another 6 weeks of chemo after that.
This news has been very difficult for our family to process, but I know his parents are thankful for the oncology team that has moved so quickly to diagnose him and get him started on his treatment.
I know my brother would find it hard to ask for help, but they are currently down to one income with Alyssa focusing on Calvin’s care, hospital visits, schooling at home, etc., and the increased costs with hospital visits and quick meals. Anything people can give will help during this difficult time for my brother and his family.
