Sawyer Bizon's Osteosarcoma Journey

Hi, my name is Skyler Bizon and I am fundraising on behalf of my family for my younger brother, Sawyer's, battle with osteosarcoma.

On Caringbridge. org my mom wrote, "In September Sawyer (Bizon) started limping around - he'd been complaining of calf pain. He had been to a tennis camp, football camp, and the football season had begun. We chalked it up to a deep strain in his muscle. On October 4th he had to run the mile in PE, where he felt a sudden popping sensation. He was in immediate pain and unable to walk on his leg at all. Brandon took him into the pediatrician. His pain made it hard for them to evaluate him, and she told Brandon he needed to see an orthopedic doctor. She gave him a paper for Shriner's walk-in sports injury clinic. I took him the next day. They did an x-ray to rule out a fracture. Once the x-ray was taken the doctor came in asking a bunch of questions. Did he have a fever recently? Infection? Other injury unrelated to this? Sawyer and I were confused why she was asking us all of this. She told me that there was something concerning in the tibia on the x-ray and that he needed blood work and a stat MRI to gather more information. That night - after reading the doctor's report and the radiologist report of the x-ray - we knew they were looking at either osteosarcoma (bone cancer) or osteomyelitis (bone infection). The blood work essentially ruled out infection right away. From the first day, Brandon and I knew in our core that it was osteosarcoma.

From this point we went over the MRI somewhat with the doctor from Shriners and we were immediately referred to the OHSU tumor team. We still didn't have an official diagnosis at this point - because a biopsy is the definitive. On October 27th we had our first appointment with a doctor on the orthopedic oncology team. He walked us through the MRI carefully and made it clear to us that we were looking at osteosarcoma. He walked us through what the process would look like going forward. On October 31st we took Sawyer to Doernbecher's Children's Hospital to undergo a surgical biopsy. Before he woke up completely from anesthesia - the surgeon took us into a tiny room to tell us that, from what the pathologist could see in the OR, they were certain it was osteosarcoma. Two days later the biopsy results came back - the official diagnosis is high-grade osteosarcoma.

November 8th Sawyer had a CT scan of the chest, a PET scan, a hearing test (to get a baseline because chemo can affect hearing), and an oncology appointment. The CT scan was clear - no cancer in his lungs. The PET scan showed clearly that his cancer was localized to the tibia. The next day he had an ECHO, and then underwent a second surgery to have a port inserted. Following this he was admitted to the hospital to begin his first cycle of chemo. We spent three nights in the hospital and came home to watch him carefully for side effects and fevers. The first doses of medicine he had are one of the strongest chemo medicines - one is referred to "The Red Devil". This one can affect his heart- and will be the reason he will have to have an ECHO every two years for the rest of his life.

In December Sawyer will spend two, five day stretches (nearly back-to-back). receiving the next chemo medicine in the cycle. This medicine has an impact on the kidneys - so he has to be continuously hydrated for the five days they give this medicine. That will complete the first cycle. A few short days later - the second cycle will begin. After two cycles - scans will be done and he will have surgery at the end of January. Followed by four more cycles of chemo. The plan is about 29 weeks long.

After all of the blows at this point - the conversation regarding surgery was especially painful. The tumor has essentially taken up a large portion of his tibia. From how the doctor made it sound - his bone is not salvageable. This leaves the options of amputation or limb sparing surgery. Neither option sounds wonderful. His growth plate would be removed, he would have an implant, but with the possibility of many surgeries to follow to keep legs the same length. The surgeon told him he will never play football again and that his leg will never be the same as the other leg. Depending on surgery - we don't know what sports will be possible. All of this for a 13 year old. On top of that all of the side effects and possible future affects of chemo to think about. This is only the beginning.

I know that this is long, but I feel it's important to understanding where things are at. As you can imagine - our family is gutted. Everything was typical up until October 5th of this year - then our lives flipped upside down. Sawyer has done O.K. on these first medicines - the nurse said pretty well for the medications he's had. He had a rough couple of days, but now he's just extremely tired. Doesn't want to eat much. All difficult to watch when your child is typically very very talkative and active. We are gutted - and trying our best to not get ahead of ourselves by just focusing on each day as it comes.

We are so so so very blessed with amazing family, friends, work community, and our town community. We know so many are praying for Sawyer and we can feel all of the prayers. The road ahead of us will be long and uncertain. Brandon and I are both trying to figure out how to balance caring for Sawyer and working because we don't have unlimited leave options. Oregon Paid Leave is only 12 weeks and only a portion of our income. It will be a careful balance to get through, but my faith is not shaken. God is here with us - I know it."

We are grateful for all of the family and friends that have reached out to us so far. I just want to try to take some of the burden off my parents while our family is going through this difficult journey.

Much love,

Skyler Bizon