Meet Jericho, a 4 year old B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia warrior.
At just 3 years old, Jericho was experiencing a swollen, bruised and spotted stomach accompanied by fevers, so his parents took him to the doctor. The pediatrician sent the family to the emergency room. His parents suspected some sort of infection but when doctors and nurses started running additional tests, they knew it wasn’t just an infection. Tests were completed overnight and the next morning doctors confirmed the leukemia diagnosis. “Our world collapsed, it changed our lives completely. We were devastated, terrified and deflated. We felt crushed for a while, then accepted it. We were ready to kick cancer” said Jami, Jericho’s mother.
Treatment began immediately with weekly chemotherapy treatments and physical therapy for the next three years. In his first month of treatment, he had a picc line placed which is now a port implant. “We were bombarded with medicines, schedules, routines that we must keep, words that we had no idea what they meant or how to properly say some of them, nurses, oncologists, anesthesiologists, child life specialists, chaplains, and all other forms of hospital staff,” remembers Jami.
Jericho has had several lumbar punctures and had a very serious allergic reaction to PEG chemotherapy. Jericho went into anaphylactic shock and received compressions for 27 minutes before regaining consciousness. On the way to the PICU he went into cardiac arrest and received compressions for an additional 13 minutes before regaining consciousness for the second time. Doctors confirmed there was no sign of brain damage so they unhooked him from monitors. Last July, Jericho’s parents decided to shave his head after several handfuls of hair began to fall out. He was so upset, but in December of 2019 his hair began growing so fast, it needed a trimming!
A year into his battle, Jericho is four years old, full of life and happiness. His family helps him celebrate small victories and make the most out of every day. He loves spending time with his family and playing with his brother, Jamison. He loves to swim, play outside, play with friends in Sunday school and play on the swings.
Follow Jericho’s story on Facebook @MarchingAroundJericho.
To learn more about Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, go here.
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