Mikey's Ready To Kick Cancer's Ass!!!!!

Hi, my name is Dominique. My little brother Mikey has been diagnosed with Sarcoma which is a soft tissue childhood cancer. He currently has 3 large masses, one by his aorta, one by his liver & the last and most invasive one in his pelvis. We still haven't gotten his full biopsy result back yet, so we’re still unsure of the stage & specific kind of sarcoma that he has. As of now, we have been told that this cancer is inoperable & only treatable with chemo therapy. His doctors anticipate his treatments to last between 1-2 years.

Mikey has been the brightest light since he entered our family. We found out that Mikey would be coming home to join our crazy crew when he was only 11 days old. We had Mikey placed in our home by foster care and we spent a long 3 years fighting to make him a permanent part of our family. This was a unique adoption case, because he is our blood relative. My brothers and I were all in our teens and twenties when Mikey came along. Although my parents thought they were finished with the baby stage, they didn't hesitate for a second when it came to providing a loving, healthy environment for this tiny preemie baby.

When Mikey was 5 weeks old we found out that he had pyloric stenosis and had surgery to correct it. He spent his first few weeks of life projectile vomiting, unable to eat or keep and food down. After that surgery we soon noticed that his belly looked a little weird. Because he was in foster care and my parents weren't yet his legal guardians, we had to follow foster care's "health plan". After a year of fighting, we finally discovered that he had something called lymphatic malformations. What this means is, Mikey had little tiny microscopic cysts scattered all around his abdomen & intestines. By the time we got the foster agency to pay attention, his entire abdomen and pelvis were filled with large pockets of blood and fluid that filled all of these cysts during that entire year.

We got transferred to Cohen's Children's Hospital where we learned that surgery wasn't an option, but we would have our 1 year old perfect little baby get radiation. His doctors went in to drain these cysts & use radiation to shrink them. After that, we were told that he should be ok until about 5yrs old and that we needed to take him for annual visits at Cohen's. This past September I took him for his annual visit & we were thrilled to hear that we could treat Mikey like a normal kid, that he wasn't "breakable" & he didn't have any sport or activity limitations. He seemed to be doing great up until about 3 weeks ago.

After banging his belly pretty hard, his belly bloated up and he was complaining about how much it was hurting. We instantly thought about his lymphatic malformations and were worried that they've filled back up. We took him to the ER & they sent us to Cohen's after not only confirming that all of his malformations were back and very full, but also informing us about a mass in his pelvis. Once at Cohen's they drained everything but told us that until we knew more about this mass, that radiation wasn't an option.

We now know that this new mass is accompanied by another 2 large masses. His heart, stomach & lungs are all fighting for space in his chest. His bladder is being crushed by the mass in his pelvis. On top of that, his malformation all filled back up after just a few days. Eating, drinking & using the bathroom have become very hard tasks for Mikey to accomplish and through all of that, his smile still lights up the room. He has been so brave, strong & giggly despite all of the needles, procedures, blood work & tests. Mikey is always joking around, making us laugh & is definitely the heart of our family. We all love him more than words can even describe & I'm sure all families say this... But Mikey really is such a special kid, and to watch him go through yet another health problem is heart breaking for all of us.

If you know the Scotto family, you're very familiar with our open door policy & the many different, families, friends, kids and anyone else in need staying in our house. Or our Sunday dinners that require 2 folding tables along with the 8 person dining room table to fit everyone. Both of my parents are the most genuine selfless people that I know, and when I mentioned making a go fund me they weren't really on board. Their response was "Well we don't want to take other people's money, we can't do that!". But after watching my parents time and time again put everyone else's needs before theirs, especially mine & my brothers; I think it's fair to accept some extra help when it's needed.

As of now Mikey will be starting Chemo Therapy next week. We have no idea how Mikey's journey will go, but we are 100% positive that he will give cancer a hell of a fight with a few sarcastic remarks to go along with it.