- J
- S
- E
Dearest Family & Friends:
This page was created for Morgan Jose Torres. Morgan is a precious 2-year-old boy, currently in a battle against Leukemia. We are using this page to keep everyone posted as often as possible and to allow other people to share their support and prayers as well. We appreciate your prayers, love and support throughut the past seven months, it means so much to our family. Unfortunately, this battle has only begun...
The following is a heartfelt message from my sister Mireya regarding Baby Morgan’s story: The journey has been long and she is finally ready to tell his story.
Morgan was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) September 27, 2016.
History:
Morgan always had ear infections. He would get one every other month since he was five (5) months. His fevers would get really high and lasted for weeks. A month would go by and again another fever and more ear infections. Morgan had surgery to have ear tubes installed when he was 15 months old and it seemed to get better. However, the ear infections continued. Many late nights in urgent care and emergency room.
Since Morgan always had ear infections it was becoming a normal thing for him to have fevers. I just always thought it was his ears. Morgan turned two (2) September 09, 2016. The following week he went for his 2 year shots along with the flu shot. He got a fever after the flu shot so I thought the fever was due to the flu shot. Then I started to notice he looked very uncomfortable and bloated. I watched him for two days and at this point I was very worried and felt sick to my stomach. Something told me it was more than just an ear infection or symptoms from the flu shot. The second night with fever I was putting wet wash cloths on his forehead. I felt his body temperature was different. His hands and feet were freezing cold and his head, legs, and stomach were at 103. I was really worried that night. When I would doze off and close my eyes I would get horrible images of my baby boy laying in a coffin. That was it, I couldn’t take it anymore. The next day, I took him to urgent care. The doctor felt his stomach and told me his liver was enlarged. Then they continued to do testing on him as we were waiting for his blood work to come back I noticed little dots of blood all over his head and body. I couldn’t believe I did not notice earlier. Everything happened within a blink of an eye and his health began to worsen by the second.
The doctor came into the room and started by saying “Your son is very sick; we will be admitting him to the hospital for further testing.” He continued by saying a lot of “H” words that I just did not understand. I stopped him and asked him, “Are you trying to tell me my son has cancer?” He said, “Yes, we need to admit him for further testing to get an accurate diagnosis.”
I was in disbelief and in shock. I was being told what no mother ever wants to hear! I started screaming uncontrollably, “My son has cancer? I don’t understand! What caused this?” I started thinking of the many things I did wrong and blaming myself.
He was so sick by the time he was admitted to the hospital. He immediately received a blood transfusion, platelet transfusion and medicine for his liver. His liver and spleen were enlarged more than double in size. The feelings and overwhelming emotions I was going through are indescribable. The experience was surreal. The next morning, we met the oncology Physician and Nurses. They were an amazing team. I could have never asked for a better team to take care of my son. My son received treatment for four months and then we found out his oncologist and a few of the nurses were leaving. This broke my heart. I felt helpless and scared for my son’s life. I did not know what to do.
We had to transition Morgan’s care to UNM. January, February, March he was in and out of the hospital constantly. In the month of April alone, he had treatment twice a week and was admitted twice. During this last admission he was very sick. He needed a blood transfusion. His counts were extremely low. When I took him in he was shaking/shivering non-stop. I was putting wet wash clothes on his forehead to help with the fever that was at 104. This continued for two hours and I could not get it under control. I was surprised the nurses did not help me or offer to do anything for him to make him more comfortable. Prior to losing our Pediatric Oncologist at Presbyterian and being transferred to UNM I was in similar situations where I had two nurses with me all night helping me put wash clothes all over his body. I miss my team at Pres. It is so comforting to have a team of professional’s aid and assist us through these scares. They made Morgan and I feel safe. This is when we decided to continue Morgan’s treatment in Aurora, Colorado at the Children’s Hospital.
For those of you who know Morgan, you know he is not talking yet. However, in this instance he told me with his eyes that he needed 100% of my undivided attention. So I decided to give my two weeks’ notice. I never thought I would ever leave my job. I have worked with my employer for 17 years and love working. However, I just can’t do it anymore. This entire experience has been overwhelming, frightening, exhausting and overall heartbreaking…I feel I am at a breaking point. Throughout these last seven months I have come to the conclusion I must dedicate my time and soul to my precious baby boy. I plan to stay with him until he completes his treatment. He has two years and five months to go.
When I became a mother, I knew there would be “ups and downs.” The minute you see your child, you know that if anything were to ever happen to them, it would just rip your heart out. I know that in this life bad things happen every day…with four kids the risks become greater and the challenges more frequent. I know I must keep the faith I have in God. That said, we are prepared to fight the daily battles and ultimately win the war. Bring it on! I will never give up hope and faith because I know Morgan has not. He fights every day with every fever, every tear, every needle that accesses him, every spinal tap, every blood/platelet transfusion, hurting/swollen joints, missing hair, appearance changes week to week, and with EVERY LAUGH AND EVERY SMILE.
We thank you all for the hospital visits, phone calls, text/Facebook messages, special food deliveries, words of wisdom, ongoing unconditional love, prayers, and support. Without you, our dearest family and friends, these past seven months would have been so much worse.
As they continue this fight, they battle many struggles. More recently, with their relocation to Denver, Colorado for treatment, come unexpected expenses and with the loss of income the funds to make ends meet. An account, to help offset expenses during his treatment and recovery, has been set up. We appreciate any help you can give as anything helps.
This page was created for Morgan Jose Torres. Morgan is a precious 2-year-old boy, currently in a battle against Leukemia. We are using this page to keep everyone posted as often as possible and to allow other people to share their support and prayers as well. We appreciate your prayers, love and support throughut the past seven months, it means so much to our family. Unfortunately, this battle has only begun...
The following is a heartfelt message from my sister Mireya regarding Baby Morgan’s story: The journey has been long and she is finally ready to tell his story.
Morgan was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) September 27, 2016.
History:
Morgan always had ear infections. He would get one every other month since he was five (5) months. His fevers would get really high and lasted for weeks. A month would go by and again another fever and more ear infections. Morgan had surgery to have ear tubes installed when he was 15 months old and it seemed to get better. However, the ear infections continued. Many late nights in urgent care and emergency room.
Since Morgan always had ear infections it was becoming a normal thing for him to have fevers. I just always thought it was his ears. Morgan turned two (2) September 09, 2016. The following week he went for his 2 year shots along with the flu shot. He got a fever after the flu shot so I thought the fever was due to the flu shot. Then I started to notice he looked very uncomfortable and bloated. I watched him for two days and at this point I was very worried and felt sick to my stomach. Something told me it was more than just an ear infection or symptoms from the flu shot. The second night with fever I was putting wet wash cloths on his forehead. I felt his body temperature was different. His hands and feet were freezing cold and his head, legs, and stomach were at 103. I was really worried that night. When I would doze off and close my eyes I would get horrible images of my baby boy laying in a coffin. That was it, I couldn’t take it anymore. The next day, I took him to urgent care. The doctor felt his stomach and told me his liver was enlarged. Then they continued to do testing on him as we were waiting for his blood work to come back I noticed little dots of blood all over his head and body. I couldn’t believe I did not notice earlier. Everything happened within a blink of an eye and his health began to worsen by the second.
The doctor came into the room and started by saying “Your son is very sick; we will be admitting him to the hospital for further testing.” He continued by saying a lot of “H” words that I just did not understand. I stopped him and asked him, “Are you trying to tell me my son has cancer?” He said, “Yes, we need to admit him for further testing to get an accurate diagnosis.”
I was in disbelief and in shock. I was being told what no mother ever wants to hear! I started screaming uncontrollably, “My son has cancer? I don’t understand! What caused this?” I started thinking of the many things I did wrong and blaming myself.
He was so sick by the time he was admitted to the hospital. He immediately received a blood transfusion, platelet transfusion and medicine for his liver. His liver and spleen were enlarged more than double in size. The feelings and overwhelming emotions I was going through are indescribable. The experience was surreal. The next morning, we met the oncology Physician and Nurses. They were an amazing team. I could have never asked for a better team to take care of my son. My son received treatment for four months and then we found out his oncologist and a few of the nurses were leaving. This broke my heart. I felt helpless and scared for my son’s life. I did not know what to do.
We had to transition Morgan’s care to UNM. January, February, March he was in and out of the hospital constantly. In the month of April alone, he had treatment twice a week and was admitted twice. During this last admission he was very sick. He needed a blood transfusion. His counts were extremely low. When I took him in he was shaking/shivering non-stop. I was putting wet wash clothes on his forehead to help with the fever that was at 104. This continued for two hours and I could not get it under control. I was surprised the nurses did not help me or offer to do anything for him to make him more comfortable. Prior to losing our Pediatric Oncologist at Presbyterian and being transferred to UNM I was in similar situations where I had two nurses with me all night helping me put wash clothes all over his body. I miss my team at Pres. It is so comforting to have a team of professional’s aid and assist us through these scares. They made Morgan and I feel safe. This is when we decided to continue Morgan’s treatment in Aurora, Colorado at the Children’s Hospital.
For those of you who know Morgan, you know he is not talking yet. However, in this instance he told me with his eyes that he needed 100% of my undivided attention. So I decided to give my two weeks’ notice. I never thought I would ever leave my job. I have worked with my employer for 17 years and love working. However, I just can’t do it anymore. This entire experience has been overwhelming, frightening, exhausting and overall heartbreaking…I feel I am at a breaking point. Throughout these last seven months I have come to the conclusion I must dedicate my time and soul to my precious baby boy. I plan to stay with him until he completes his treatment. He has two years and five months to go.
When I became a mother, I knew there would be “ups and downs.” The minute you see your child, you know that if anything were to ever happen to them, it would just rip your heart out. I know that in this life bad things happen every day…with four kids the risks become greater and the challenges more frequent. I know I must keep the faith I have in God. That said, we are prepared to fight the daily battles and ultimately win the war. Bring it on! I will never give up hope and faith because I know Morgan has not. He fights every day with every fever, every tear, every needle that accesses him, every spinal tap, every blood/platelet transfusion, hurting/swollen joints, missing hair, appearance changes week to week, and with EVERY LAUGH AND EVERY SMILE.
We thank you all for the hospital visits, phone calls, text/Facebook messages, special food deliveries, words of wisdom, ongoing unconditional love, prayers, and support. Without you, our dearest family and friends, these past seven months would have been so much worse.
As they continue this fight, they battle many struggles. More recently, with their relocation to Denver, Colorado for treatment, come unexpected expenses and with the loss of income the funds to make ends meet. An account, to help offset expenses during his treatment and recovery, has been set up. We appreciate any help you can give as anything helps.
Organizer and beneficiary
Mireya Ortega
Beneficiary