Anthony's Adoption and Leukemia story--Abbreviated version

~INTRODUCING~

Anthony Mosiah

Everyone asks, so they must be curious. Here’s the quick version. ~~

Andy and I were never supposed to be able to have children. After 5 children within 6 years, the doctors said no more. It was so hard on my body, and we were fine with being done.

I started having dreams about missing a child. I would count our children all the time (they were small, making sure they were safe), and it seemed like 5 wasn’t the right amount to be counting to. One solution was to become licensed as foster-to-adopt parents. The plan was that, even if we didn’t find the right child to adopt, we’d be helping a child in need, and it might help my dreams go away.

After Anthony was placed with us, my dreams stopped, and we are all content.

Anthony is now 2 years old. We knew that Anthony has Trisomy 21 (Down syndrome), as well as a heart defect called Tetralogy of Fallot. Even with these challenges, we knew that our family, community, and all our friends and resources would be a benefit to Anthony. They were and still are.

Anthony did spectacular with his open-heart surgery at 3 months old! He continued to do so well: developmentally, physically, emotionally, and socially.

After having unusual symptoms for a few weeks, Anthony was finally diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia on December 2, 2009. He and I were rushed by ambulance to Seattle, where we have been since. A longer version of Anthony's diagnosis story can be found here.

ALL is the best kind of cancer that he could possibly have, as it is the most common occurring in children. There has been a LOT of research done on ALL, and the cure rate is over 90%. To get to that cure though, Anthony has had to endure over a year of treatment in Seattle, and will receive monthly maintenance chemotherapy for 3 additional years, starting in February.

Our family has lived in separate households now, for the past year. Andy, Daniel, and Kelly have stayed at home, while the younger children have stayed with me at the Ronald McDonald House in Seattle. The olders visit us youngers about once a week.

During the year, Josh, Lilly, and Maggie have attended a special school for patients and siblings. The children enjoy their very small classes, the awesome staff, the urban experience (school is in downtown Seattle), and all the exciting field trips!

This year has been rough, yet so many people and organizations have made things the best that they can be in this kind of situation. Through their service, we have been able to realize that our family actually has a better situation than many. We have an illness with an almost definite cure, we have our family, Andy has a great job, the children have made new friends and so have we, and we have our health.

Most exciting news from this year~~Anthony is officially part of our family now!