Nickolas has been diagnosed with Leukemia.

Nickolas was admitted to Children’s Hospital on Thursday, August 18th. Thursday morning Tiffany noticed purple spots on him. About a week and a half before that he had the hand, foot mouth virus. Once he got over that virus he still seemed very tired and cranky. He had night sweats and also he bruised easily. Tiffany Googled his symptoms and all signs pointed to Leukemia. There was only one symptom he didn’t have, but when he woke up that morning the last symptom was there (the purple spots). So Tiffany took him to his family doctor and after they tested his blood they told her to quickly take him to Children’s where he will be admitted for testing. Thursday Nickolas had a very rough day, as you can imagine. There were so many people doing so many different things. It was very overwhelming for all of us. His red blood count was very low and also his white blood count and platelets were low. He received 2 blood transfusions Thursday night to get him well enough to go through the bone marrow biopsy procedure. The procedure went well and when he woke up he was not in any pain, which is great. All day Friday he was fine. He was the same old Nickolas that we are used to. He had lots of visitors and received lots of toys and candy. He just gets tired easily. He did ask me why he was in the hospital. I just told him because he is sick and he is there to feel better. They tell us that Leukemia is an extremely curable cancer. With treatment Nickolas should make a full recovery. The road to recovery, from what I understand, will not be smooth my any means. Saturday night it was confirmed that Nickolas has type ALL Leukemia. It was triggered by the virus he had. It’s the best news we could have received at this time. This type is highly curable. Saturday night he started complaining of his legs hurting. He limped around and couldn’t stand for very long. Sunday was not a good day for him. He was in pain most of the day and could not walk. He would sleep off and on and wake up crying. He was given pain meds throughout the day. After a bath he was feeling like a new kid! He still couldn’t walk, but he was talking and making us laugh. He ate a PB & J sandwich and 2 cookies. He was like normal. Then before I left that night he started complaining of his legs hurting again. Sunday night was a good night for him. He had a blood transfusion, which always makes him feel better. His color came back and he was ready to play and eat. On Monday he had not complained of his legs hurting and he did not have pain medicine all day. He actually stood up for a minute or two with some help. Monday he had surgery to have his port placed. The port will allow doctors to give him chemo. He had a spinal tap to confirm there was no cancer in the spinal chord or brain stem. He will not be allowed to go places with large crowds for 6 months and he will receive Chemotherapy for 3 years. He will have to be in and out of the hospital for treatment. The doctor said we just have to wash our hands constantly and to try our best to not bring in any germs. This is impossible and the doctor said he is a kid, he will get sick, but anything we can do to reduce the risk is what we should do. The medicines he is on will make him have mood swings. So he will by happy one minute then cranky the next.The chemotherapy is doing what it is supposed to do, so we are very thankful for that. He will get to come home Monday the 29th if all goes well. Then he will have to go back to the hospital once a week for treatment. His liver and spleen are no longer enlarged. The doctor seems to be very optimistic. He hopes the cancer cells will be gone within a month. The rest of the treatment he will get will prevent the cancer from coming back. He is getting better with nurses when they come in and check his vitals. As long as Tiffany is holding his hand, then he is fine. He is getting more and more spoiled each day, but we are just fine with that. The nurse did tell us that his blood sugar was a little high, so they told us to limit the sweets. He is drinking Powerade Zero and I bought him some sugar free Reese's Cups. He loves them! We are looking forward to him being home. Tiffany is a little nervous, which is completely understandable.