MY STORY
Hello, my name is Joshua Wiggins. I am eight years old and in the third grade. Some of my favorite things to do are play outside with my brothers and sister. I like to ride my bike, jump on the trampoline and of course get dirty!
Back in July of 2008 after returning from vacation to California, I got a cold that wouldn't go away. My throat and my neck swelled up pretty bad and I began to run a fever. This went on for a couple of days so my mommy and daddy took me to the hospital.
While I was there they couldn't really find out what was wrong so they gave me some medicine to help me rest and sent me home for the night. The next day I wasn't any better so we went to see my regular doctor. His name is Dr. Thomas. He checked me over really good and sent me to take some tests at the hospital.
When we were done I got to go home, but my mommy and daddy had to wait for him to call us with the results. It took a really long time. That afternoon Dr. Thomas told my mom and dad that he thought I might have Leukemia and that he wanted me to go see a specialist in Savannah.
I didn't know what was really going on, but my mommy and daddy were really scared. The next morning we went to Savannah where I met a lot of new doctors.
They had to run IV's to draw blood and put me to sleep to do a special test called a bone marrow. I was really scared. When I woke up I had my mommy and daddy with me. I also had my pastor, George Moxley and Miss. Debbie with me. We played with playdough while my mommy and daddy talked to the doctors.
When they came back into my room, mommy and daddy were crying because we had just found out that I did have Leukemia. It was a really big word for me and I didn't know what it meant, but now I do.
That night, I began staying in the hospital because the doctors had to run lots of tests to find out what kind of Leukemia I had. I was there for five days. This all started on July 21st, so I spent my sixth birthday in the hospital. The doctors made it fun because they let mommy and daddy throw me a little party in my room.
I had lots of visitors, and even my brothers Mason, and Owen and my sister Emma got to come see me for the first time in a week. They were kind of scared to see me with all the machines hooked up to me, but they didn't mind after a while.
I showed them where I had surgery because they had to put a port under my skin so that I could get all my medicine without having to get poked every time. I call this my special rock!! I have to be really careful not to hit it because it helps me get better.
The kind of Leukemia I have is called T-CELL ALL. This means that it's a little bit harder to cure than the regular Leukemia, but it still has a good cure rate. I am so glad that there are doctors working hard everyday to find a complete cure for all Leukemia patients.
Because I can't go outside much, I have spent a lot of time inside doing other things. It's hard when my counts are down and I can't be around people who are sick or even have a cold. When I go places where I might get germs I have to be really careful and wear a mask. Because of the Leukemia, I have lost my hair and some days I don't feel well. Sometimes when I go for treatments they have to give me blood or platelets to help me feel better. This takes a long time.
In October of 2008, I was taking a lot of medicines that were making me kinda sick. I woke up and my tummy was hurting really bad. My mommy had to take me to the hospital right away. After checking my counts, we realized they were very low. The tests are not so scary anymore, because the nurses are really nice.
I became really sick and found out that I had pancreatitis. I was in the hopital for nine days. I couldn't eat anything because it just made things worse. Finally I started to get better and was able to go home. Just a month later, I was back in the hospital again with a fever that just wouldn't go away. I had a lot of people praying for me to get better each and every day.
Since I have had Leukemia alot of people have helped me understand what I'm going through. My mommy and daddy talk to me a lot about what my treatments and medicines are going to do. We talk about how they will make me feel and that it's okay to be scared. My Nanad and Papa's help take care of m brothers and sister when I have to go to my treatments. I know they wish I didn't have to go all the time, but they understand it's so that I can get better. My pastor and Ms. Debbie have made a lot of trips to come see me too. They even took us to lunch one day at the mall when I had a break from treatments. It was really fun!!
Some of the special people that I would like to thank are Ms. Townsend and Kashley Pye for making school a little more fun from home. Dr. Thomas, because he really took the time to take good care of me when I was sick. My parents really can't thank him enough. Dr. Johnston, Dr. Gonzales, and Dr. Whittle for being the best doctors at Backus Children's hospital in Savannah, Ga. where I get all my treatments. Ms. Annie and Trisha for always making it fun and putting a smile on my face during long afternoons. Ms. Theresa, Ms. Melissa, Ms. Edith, Ms. Sondra, Ms. Jackie, and Ms. Mary Lou for always holding my hand when it was time to access my port each week.
To everyone who has helped me and my family get through this difficult time, we love you. To my pastor and his family, and everyone at Unity Church of God, your prayers have been amazing.
Keep praying for me as I continue down my journey, I still have 3 years of treatment to go.......THANK YOU!!!!!
Love,
Joshua Wiggins
