Benjamin Thomas Braves the Beast [Post #19 6 PM]



Benjamin is battling a different kind of cancer than the rest of the Warriors. He was diagnosed with a very rare form of cancer called, Rhabdomyosarcoma. Only 4 out of a 1,000000 are diagnosed with it a year. This Thomas family as well as Christi Thomas’s family were in the hospital in Columbus, Ohio at the very beginning of their respective journeys.

Benjamin was 4 years old and I noticed a lump in his neck. After visiting our peds. doctor . We got the worst news ever that parents could ever receive. Benjamin was DX with Rhabdomyosarcoma stage 3. Only 4 out of every million children are DX a year with this dreaded disease. Benjamin underwent 42 straight weeks of chemo therapy and every third week has would be admitted to receive 3 different chemos at once. Twelve weeks into his treatment Benjamin had to start Radiation therapy for 31 treatments of the head and neck. Since treatments Benjamin has been doing very well except for some minor issues popping up here and there. November 2005, Benjamin was in school waiting in the line for the water fountain when he passed out and went into convulsions. He has had some ER visits for things and everything has come back clean. Benjamin has been an awesome kid growing up and just having fun. Even when he was going through treatments people would come up to me and ask if he really was getting chemo. He would get out of the hospital after 3 different chemos, would come home and play outside and ride his bike. You would never thought he was sick. Benjamin would just keep trucking one day at a time. He was a great fighter, never complained once about his treatments. But, his many injection he received he would cry. He would look at me and say daddy I don't want anymore shots. How do you tell a 5 year old that we have to do this. Some days he would say daddy I don't want to go to the hospital. Can you blame him, I don't think I would want to either. One of the greatest remarks ever said by anyone under going chemo therapy, especially a 5 year old child was when he was almost done with chemo, I was driving Benjamin home from the hospital he looked at me and said "Daddy will CANCER make me die" Wow what a question being asked, especially a 5 year old. He asked me several times towards the end of his treatments and I would always turn my head because I would start crying. Well one day I got the question again. "Daddy will CANCER make me die", well I finally decided to tell him the truth. Yes Benjamin you can die from this, well what do you know, I got the funniest remark ever. Benjamin looked at me and said "Good thing I didn't die" I asked him how did you beat it and he told me "Because I was stronger" I could not help but laugh the rest of the way home calling everyone I knew...... Benjamin has done several things from Dx until now. I just pray to our Lord in Heaven for everyday that I get to spend with Benjamin. He was a trooper from the very get go. The very first morning we woke up in the hospital from being DX, I was outside his room crying and talking with our doctor when all of a sudden I heard everyone laughing. I turned my chair to see what is going on, well wouldn't you know it my little stinker was outside his room with an IV in his arm shooting people with a 10cc syringe with water. Yes my boy figured out that you can turn a syringe into a weapon, a water weapon. Boy did he have fun. Shooting doctors, nurses and whoever else was walking down the hall way. For the next 2 hours I don't think the floor got any work done. Through every treatment he was doing something. From riding his IV pole all over the hospital, to driving his remote control cars down the floors of the hospital all hours of the day. He was always making everyday a fun day.

Benjamin is now 8 years old, he will be 9 in September Praise the Lord. He will be in the third grade. He really has a treat in store for him, he is not a school fan he wishes the summer break is year round. He loves playing sports, baseball is his favorite sport of all but we now have a new sport start for him this fall. He has been asking me for 2 years to play football, well of course with everything he has been through I have been leary about letting him play. So I contacted our Oncologist and he told me he is 3 years out of chemo, it is time to let him be a boy and if he wants to play football let him, and tell him good luck...I think he will have the mentality to play because all he wants to do is fight. I think his favorite thing in life to do is to fight with his little brother Dillon day in and day out. So now I have him something that he can legally hit someone, oh my what am I doing.... We went to get him fitted for his helmet and shoulder pads, and as we were leaving he asked if he was aloud to hit someone hard enough to break there legs. Maybe I should have put him in boxing instead. Benjamin has been having a great summer so far. We have been to the pool almost everyday, the zoo, Michigan Motor Speedway. We are just having as much with him and our other kids. Thursday July 27, we will be taking Benjamin in for his yearly MRI, we pray that we get the all clear sign. So we ask that all our prayer warriors help and pray for him. Daddy gets really nervous this time of the year.

From Nikki: Benjamin’s dad recently emailed me to say that Benjamin is still NED! He had his yearly tests a few days ago! Yea for Benjamin!

Benjamin’s father has also been very helpful during my quest to do this Blogathon. He’s been very encouraging and I wanted to thank him for it!!

Please visit Benjamin’s site: www.caringbridge.org/oh/benjamin