Luke

Luke

Luke is the oldest of 3 boys in his family. He lives with his mom and dad, and brothers Caleb and Eli. The three boys were born in under 4 years and are very close. Luke was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in 1st grade at age 6 in February, 2011. His initial 3 years of treatment went smoothly and he responded well to treatment. A year after treatment ended, in April 2015, Luke relapsed and was sent to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute for a trial medication. Three weeks into this treatment, Luke contracted bacterial meningitis. He spent 6 weeks in the ICU and 15 months in the hospital with seizures and a stroke. After nine neurosurgeries (13 surgeries total), and a shunt placement we were finally able to come home. Because of complications in leukemia treatment from the meningitis setback, Luke relapsed again in August of 2017. In Dec 2017, he had a bone marrow transplant. Luke is now in full remission and working on his rehab from the brain injury. The impact on our family is beyond words as they have been dealing with this for 10 years now.

2019 Update

Luke is now 16 and his brothers are 15 and 13. He continues to do well and make gains. Luke is attending a wonderful school that he stays at during the week where he is active, involved and has access to lots of therapies. The school focuses on helping kids with traumatic brain injuries to maximize their potential. Luke and his family continue to support other families of children with cancer as they know personally how hard it is! Luke’s dad says, “While Luke’s struggle has been heartbreaking, it was also a chance to witness the best in people, our community, and our church. People rallied around our family, generosity shone bright, and Luke has made many connections in the community.”

Update from dad March 2022

Luke is doing really well.  Cancer free!