On September 15th, 2018, four-year-old Mikah went from a happy Batman imitator to a weak, sick little boy seemingly overnight. The tapestry of his life and his family's lives were forever changed.
My grand-nephew Mikah has Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), the B cell type.
Treatment
Since his diagnosis, Mikah has been through countless procedures. He has had blood tests, lumbar punctures, port insertions, intravenous catheter insertions and port accesses, bone marrow aspirations, preventive vaccines, and dozens of chemotherapy infusions. He earned his nickname, Mighty Mikah.
Mikah makes 50-mile round trips for his treatments and, at one point, wore a continuous pump of chemotherapy for 28 days.
He has days where he only wants to sleep or doesn't feel like moving. He has days where he is racked with pain, swollen from steroids, moody, or in tears. These days are heartbreaking for his mother, who wants to take the pain away.Â
Family
Mikah's dad is a firefighter/paramedic and is used to relieving people's pain. Watching his son suffer despite pain medication is very difficult.
This is also tragic for Mikah's siblings, who stand helplessly by watching him suffer. At one point, his brothers and dad shaved their hair so Mikah would not feel alone in losing his.
Mikah and his family have received support from relatives, friends, extended family, and a wide network of people within their faith community.
Support
Mikah has also benefitted from the support of these several organizations:
After three years and 1,158 days of treatment, Mikah rang the bell in the pediatric oncology clinic at Loma Linda. It signaled the completion of treatment on 11/23/2021.
Mikah's family knew the statistics saying he had a 95% chance of survival. However, they never considered that Mikah could be part of the 5% that relapse. They did everything right. They never missed any drug dosages or appointments. They even fought with a pharmaceutical company to get him a chemotherapy drug that was in short supply but was supposed to keep him from relapsing.Â
While we will never know why he relapsed, there is nothing they could have done differently.
Relapse
After 11 months of being cancer-free, on October 10th, 2022, Mikah's family learned he had relapsed.
Besides being devastated, his parents decided they would do things differently this time. They wanted to let him live life to the fullest and give him every opportunity he could handle.
Mikah is a hero, fighting cancer for the SECOND time! His resilience is a lesson for us all.
This time, in addition to three more years of chemotherapy, radiation was recommended. His parents knew this could affect his future fertility. Deciding that they would regret it if he relapsed again, they agreed to go ahead with the radiation.
Faith Journey and the Future
His mother, Sarah, says, "God's goodness is shining through Mikah, and it brings me so much joy to sit back and see God moving."
Reflecting on the last five years and what Mikah has endured, his family and friends can see how God has been faithful even in the darkest times. God's mercies are new every morning. We are grateful that even though Mikah and his family are still in the trial, we are given moments to celebrate and rejoice in all God is doing.
Complications
This is not a trial they would have chosen. They still have really hard days when they feel broken. But through those times, Mikah and his family feel God's mercy, goodness, and kindness.
Mikah's family knows that there are possible long-term complications from leukemia or the treatment, which can include:Â
Return of the leukemia
Growth of other cancers later in lifeÂ
Heart, lung, and thyroid problems
Learning problems
Slow growth and development.
Hearing problems
Problems with the ability to have children in the future (infertility)Â
Bone problems such as thinning of bones (osteoporosis)Â
Cataracts
He takes one day at a time and is excited to complete all his treatments in October 2024. He has two more spinal chemotherapy treatments and six more intravenous chemotherapy appointments.
How Can You Help Children Like Mikah?
There are racial, ethnic, and health insurance disparities in pediatric cancer in the United States. All children with cancer should have access to the best care and treatment like Mikah has had.
Children deserve more and better research and funding to find cures and less harsh treatments.
"A society's destiny rests on how it treats its children." — Robin Grille.
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