Micah's Story
It was a long time ago that I wrote this for the first time. November 7, 2023, we had the 16th anniversary of me finding his tumor on the couch. It feels like we have lived a life time since that day 16 years ago. We had 2 more girls. We moved to Grand Rapids as a family for Ken to go to seminary. We have walked some more hard. Josh has been married to an amazing girl for 2 years already. Micah is in his 4rth year at Redeemer. Natalie is at Mohawk. Josiah is in grade 12. Grace, grade 8 and Tessa grade 2. Life is flying by. This story feels like it could have happened yesterday, yet it feels like it's from another life.
So on December 28, 2007, he started chemo. Along with 15 months of intense chemo, he had 30 radiation treatments. Micah finished treatment in February of 2009 and was cancer free.
On December 7, 2009, a tumor was found in his lungs. After discussion with the doctors we all decided not to do heavy treatment the second time around. We had no new drugs to try. The probability of the drugs we had used the first time working was very slim. So they gave Micah a mild drug with the intent of shrinking the cancer so we could try surgery. That was the best case scenario. If the tumor didn't shrink we were hoping that it would slow the growth and possibly keep him comfortable for longer. At this point his breathing was labored and he was having pain in his lungs.
The chemo did not shrink the tumor and it did continus to grow and on March 22, 2010, we were informed that the tumor had started to grow at an increased rate. We had to make the decision whether to have surgery as a last chance effort, or to stop treatment and let the Lord take Micah to be with Him.
On March 25, 2010, Micah went in and had half of his left lung lob removed. Amazingly, they got all the cancer out. It was so hard on his body, but he has healed well. He is active and so healthy. He has an indent where the lung was and when he was little I would watch the screen when he got an xray and could see that small piece of lung fill the whole lung cavity. It's pretty amazing.
For the first 2 years after his lung surgery, Micah had scans every 3 months, then every 6. In March 2014, he moved to aftercare. That means no more scans and he has an appoinment once a year that focuses on how his body has handled the trauma of the cancer and the treamtent. His heart is always looked at and he has a pulmonary funation test. There is damage to his body, but at this point, they are not causing him any problems.
Saying that the doctors expected the cancer to come back soon, even within months of his surgery just amazes me. If it had come back, there was likely nothing that they could do. We see again and again that all of our lives are in the hands of the Lord.
Micah was born on January 7, 2002. On November 7, 2007, I felt a growth in his belly. It was about half the size of a banana bread loaf! After an x-ray, ultrasound and MRI, it was decided that he would have surgery to remove the tumor. The tumor was malignant. After further testing, he was diagnosed with stage 4 Rhabdomyosarcoma. His first surgery did get the whole primary tumor out, but it had spread to his lungs and liver.
So on December 28, 2007, he started chemo. Along with 15 months of intense chemo, he had 30 radiation treatments. Micah finished treatment in February of 2009 and was cancer free.
On December 7, 2009, a tumor was found in his lungs. After discussion with the doctors we all decided not to do heavy treatment the second time around. We had no new drugs to try. The probability of the drugs we had used the first time working was very slim. So they gave Micah a mild drug with the intent of shrinking the cancer so we could try surgery. That was the best case scenario. If the tumor didn't shrink we were hoping that it would slow the growth and possibly keep him comfortable for longer. At this point his breathing was labored and he was having pain in his lungs.
The chemo did not shrink the tumor and it did continus to grow and on March 22, 2010, we were informed that the tumor had started to grow at an increased rate. We had to make the decision whether to have surgery as a last chance effort, or to stop treatment and let the Lord take Micah to be with Him.
On March 25, 2010, Micah went in and had half of his left lung lob removed. Amazingly, they got all the cancer out. It was so hard on his body, but he has healed well. He is active and so healthy. He has an indent where the lung was and when he was little I would watch the screen when he got an xray and could see that small piece of lung fill the whole lung cavity. It's pretty amazing.
For the first 2 years after his lung surgery, Micah had scans every 3 months, then every 6. In March 2014, he moved to aftercare. That means no more scans and he has an appoinment once a year that focuses on how his body has handled the trauma of the cancer and the treamtent. His heart is always looked at and he has a pulmonary funation test. There is damage to his body, but at this point, they are not causing him any problems.
Saying that the doctors expected the cancer to come back soon, even within months of his surgery just amazes me. If it had come back, there was likely nothing that they could do. We see again and again that all of our lives are in the hands of the Lord.