Help Us Help Max Fight His Battle With Cancer

Our 16 year old son Max was diagnosed with T-cell Lymphoblastic Lymphoma August 4th of this year, 2021. Prior to his diagnosis Max had been the picture of health, only going to the doctor for an annual physical, if that. Of course he got the occasional cold here and there and he suffered with strep throat in his younger years but he seemed to grow out of that. He was the healthiest kid I knew and I always thought we (and he) were so blessed that he had such great health.

We went on our summer vacation in July and while we were there, Max came down with a cold. His colds always settle in his chest so when this one went right to his chest, we didn't think much of it. His cough sounded like a barking seal but hey, he was a healthy kid and there wasn't any cause for concern. Prior to going on vacation he had taken up running because he was thinking of joining our school's Cross Country team for the first time. Max was running at least a 5k every day, sometimes more, and he was challenging himself to improve his time every time he went out. He was doing incredibly well for being a first-time runner too! We were so proud of him.

We noticed Max's cough was changing and it had been hanging on for much longer than it usually did. At one point I remember looking at his face and neck thinking it was really full, like he had mumps, weird. We thought maybe the cough was lingering because of irritation from hay chaff. Max had been helping out his brother-in-law, a crop farmer, most of the summer.

This lingering cough thing just wasn't normal for Max and we started to get concerned. I took him to Urgent Care on a Monday. We thought starting him on an inhaler and an allergy med might help. We thought that was that, let's move on.

The next day, Tuesday August 3rd, when I got home from work and my husband told me Max had been wheezing pretty hard all day and he kept him home from the farm. This was a new development. I went to Max's room to see what was going on and I could hear him wheezing from across the room. I also noted his skin was dusky looking. I called Urgent Care and told them I was bringing Max back in, that his symptoms had worsened and he was having a hard time breathing.

When we got to Urgent Care the provider got our history from the day before, he listened to Max, asked him some questions, then we got a chest xray. It didn't take long to get the results. The provider showed me the xray. Max had a huge growth in the center of his chest, almost the size of a football. We were immediately sent to the ER where they attempted to do a CT scan but Max couldn't lay flat because he couldn't breathe. We were transferred to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center that night. When we arrived, the Pediatric Oncology team was there waiting for us. Max was admitted on August 4th, and after many invasive procedures, and assaults against his strong young body, he was finally discharged on August 21st. That was the start of our journey, our "introduction" to T-Cell Lymphoblastic Lymphoma. In a matter of two weeks we went from having a cold to having cancer. The battle was on.

Despite the start of aggressive chemo treatments, the tumor in Max's chest is proving to be just as stubborn as he is. The tumor is growing. New, more aggressive treatment has been started, in collaboration with Dana Farber and Boston Children's. At some point Max will be looking at a bone marrow transplant and who knows what else. We will fight as long as it takes. This talented young man has so much to offer the world and we're going to do everything we can to help him realize his dream of attending Berklee College of Music.

As his mother, I feel the need to be at his side every step of the way, but unfortunately I have to work in order to keep our bills at bay. I used all my vacation time when Max was first diagnosed so any unscheduled time I have to take off to be with him at the hospital is unpaid time. We have no idea what the medical bills will soon amount to but we know we need to swallow our pride and ask for help. In the middle of all this, my car was totaled after I hit a deer on my way home from work and we now have to buy another car. We need help for travel and lodging and medical bills.

We would appreciate it if you would share Max's story with anyone you know at your church, your place of employment, your school, anyone you can think of. We know times are tough right now for every one. In light of that, if you're unable to donate, we do appreciate all prayers, positive vibes, whatever you can offer up to encourage healing. Please help us as we help Max fight the battle of his life, for his life.

Thank you for your generosity, from the bottom of our hearts.

Love and blessings to you and yours,

Ron, Kathy, and Max