Meet Jimmy!
In mid-July of 2024, Jimmy became ill. It started with subtle things like Jimmy craving ice chips around the clock, a common sign of anemia that was noticed by his mother, who is a nurse. He soon began feeling short of breath and lightheaded. A trip to urgent care for lab work showed anemia and he was instructed to take iron supplements and that was that. After starting the supplements, nausea and constipation set in and he was provided medication to help what they thought was an intolerance of the iron supplement.
A second trip to the pediatrician still gave them no concrete solution, and poor Jimmy continued to lay around his home suffering from nausea, vomiting, and dehydration. On August 5th, his family had enough and finally took him to the ER. After fluids and labs, a CT of Jimmy’s chest and abdomen was done, which lead to the answer that would change everything in their lives. Jimmy had cancer, it was everywhere in his abdomen, chest, and pelvis.
The diagnosis was b cell lymphoma and later it was confirmed as Burkitts Lymphoma. He was in stage 3 and admitted to the hospital that day and did not come out for 22 days. During that time, Jimmy had abdominal surgery, lumbar punctures, bone marrow biopsies, and a port placement. Jimmy’s kidneys shut down and he went into the pediatric ICU for lifesaving dialysis treatments.
After 22 days of ups and downs, tears and fears, Jimmy went home. He battled fevers which led to further hospital admissions, harsh chemotherapy medication, and mouth sores that led to malnutrition, etc. But, by the grace of almighty God, Jimmy’s scan on October 10th,2024 showed no more cancer. He rang the remission bell on October 24th surrounded by his family, friends, caregivers and the Landon’s Light team. This milestone for Jimmy still hasn’t sunk in and life right now is still uncertain and scary, but full of hope, faith, gratitude, and so much love.
During Jimmy’s toughest times, it was his faith, his family, and his guitar playing that got him through it all! Please join us in continued prayers for Jimmy and his family.