Aiden F.
Aiden's Cancer Journey:
Aiden has always been the happy kid whose smile and sweet little voice could melt your heart. His parents say knowledge and love of Dinosaurs could rival most paleontologists! When he was two years old, the things he loved to do most, like run and play, were not so easy for him. He suddenly cried and limped when trying to stand up and walk. His parents, Katherine and Craig immediately took him in for x-rays thinking it was a sprain. With various things going through their minds, they weren’t ready to hear, “We believe your son has cancer.”
Aiden’s parents were broken. They were angry. They were hurting, but knew they had to put on a brave face and tell him everything was going to be alright. They knew their son was strong and even though they didn’t understand why, his family chose to stand faith and put hope in God. Immediately, Aiden was taken to Nationwide Children’s Hospital where they confirmed the diagnosis of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, placed his port, and started his chemo. Aiden was scared, but extremely strong through it all.
“On Christmas morning, we received the greatest gift. Just seven days after his first dose of chemo, the doctors didn’t find any blast cells. There was no evidence of disease,” says Aiden’s mother, Katherine. “We praised the Lord for His faithfulness, but we knew the long and hard fight to keep the cancer away was just the beginning.”
Throughout the years of treatment, Aiden had to relearn to walk, four surgeries, countless transfusions, too many rounds of chemo to keep track of, and 20 Lumbar Puncture procedures. They spent many nights on the oncology floor, weeks in the ICU, and he was in critical condition for three days. Aiden’s treatment was long and extremely hard, but he was brave and strong! Most importantly, he was happy!
No matter how hard things got or how bad he felt he always found a way to smile and find the good in everything. He never complained. He walked the halls of the 11th and 12th floors, with his “superhero” cape, roaring and telling everyone he was going to make his cancer extinct!
March 6, 2021, after 1,174 days of treatment, Aiden took his final dose of Chemo and rang the bell! His family is thrilled he’s done with treatment, but his labs will still be frequent and hard for him. They feel very blessed to have such a loving little boy to show them how to face such big battles with strength and positivity