Our Little Princey Fellow - Collin Cureageous

When Collin was born, his sister called him her "princey fellow." Collin was diagnosed with High Risk Metastatic Medulloblastoma (a brain tumor that had spread to his spine) on 4/22/10 at 16 months of age. He has had brain surgery, high dose chemo, an autologous stem-cell rescue, maintenance chemo, a phase II trial, more chemo, and radiation to his brain and spine. He has relapsed twice, but is fighting with such strength and courage, we have more recently dubbed him Collin Cureageous.

Friday, January 21, 2011

Friday, January 21 - Day +100!!! Maintenance Chemo Cycle 1, Day 5

Today is 100 days since Collin had his stem cell transplant, and tomorrow is nine months since he was diagnosed. It's hard to believe how fast the time has gone. In the beginning of this journey, I could only bear to look forward minute by minute, and now looking back, it's amazing to see how far Collin has come. He is my hero! Words can't describe how thankful I am that he's doing so well, but in a way I'm afraid to celebrate yet because I know things can change in a heartbeat. I'm doing my best to enjoy every moment I have with him, because I know what a gift each one is!

5 comments:

Laura Leisner LenanderJanuary 22, 2011 at 2:40 PM
And you are his hero, too! And a hero to all us moms! I am glad he is doing so well.
ReplyDelete
Replies
AnonymousJanuary 23, 2011 at 9:16 PM
Bobby Williams here. I just wanted to agree with you Jenn. They are little soldiers fighting an evil that hurts them, and the hearts and souls of all the people around them. Tell Neya, she is the best big sister in the world.....she has stood tall beside her little Princey fellow.
ReplyDelete
Replies
AnonymousJanuary 24, 2011 at 10:33 PM
Both you and Collin are an inspiration to everyone that knows you or your story. I came across your blog after seeing it on a friend's facebook page and I've been following your story ever since. We pray for Collin every night in our household. Thank you for sharing your story. He really is a hero.
ReplyDelete
Replies
AnonymousJanuary 26, 2011 at 6:25 AM
Jen, I am sooo happy to see everything is still going so well!! I wanted to drop you a message to say I LOVE your family page on the Thon Website!! Little man needs a picture of his hair growing back in on there too :) Hope to see you guys soon!!
Shannon P :)
ReplyDelete
Replies
SavannahJanuary 26, 2011 at 10:27 AM
Congratu-freakin-lations. This is incredible Jen!
ReplyDelete
Replies

Add comment

I am the proud mom of 2 wonderful kids, Neya (born in 2004) and Collin (born in 2008). When Collin was born, Neya loved princesses, and called her baby brother her "princey fellow." As a mom, my greatest fear in life is something happening to one of my children. My fear was realized when my sweet 16 month old son was diagnosed with cancer in April of 2010. I have watched him go through things no child should ever experience, and I am in awe of his strength. He is my hero.

I have learned that cancer is the #1 cause of disease-related death in children under the age of 20, killing more than asthma, cystic fibrosis, diabetes and pediatric AIDS combined. 46 children are diagnosed with cancer every single day. 7 children die from cancer every single day. 1 out of every 5 children diagnosed with cancer will die. There are 5 children diagnosed with cancer for every one diagnosed with pediatric AIDS, yet only $20,000 is invested in cancer research for every $595,000 invested in pediatric AIDS research. Of the National Cancer Institute's budget of $4.6 billion, breast cancer received 12%, prostate cancer received 7%, and all 12 major groups of pediatric cancer combined received less than 3%.

I started this blog as a way of keeping loved ones and friends updated on Collin. Now I also hope that his story will help raise awareness about Medulloblastoma and all childhood cancers. Awareness about childhood cancer needs to be increased so that it may some day receive the funding it deserves so that a cure can be found. Children deserve the chance to grow up and live their dreams; they shouldn't have to fight for the chance to live.

For more information on Medulloblastoma, view this document from the American Brain Tumor Association web site.