Christian Bradley Dexter was born on November 2nd, 2006. Christian was a wonderful baby that developed into quite a shy toddler. After spending the first 18 months at home with mommy, he entered daycare in May 2008. The next year seemed to go by so quickly. Christian amazed us with all of the new things he would learn. In February 2009, he surprised us with recognizing and repeating all the letters of the alphabet. We were so proud! We were really looking forward to the summer so we could spend more time outside. Christian loved being outside! He enjoyed going to the park and swinging on the swings and going down the slide. It is still unbelievable to us that what began as such a normal day turned into a day that changed our lives forever.
On the evening of Tuesday July 14th, 2009, we took Christian to Children's Urgent Care with a rash and some bruising. The doctor that evaluated him thought it would be a good idea to get a blood test done to determine if there was something more serious going on. She said that the rash could possibly be due to a virus, but wanted to make sure. We were sent to Children's Hospital's ER and within a few hours it was determined that Christian had Leukemia. It was confirmed after his bone marrow aspiration that he had ALL (Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia). We were informed that this type of Leukemia is most responsive to treatment. Christian's initial spinal tap came back with Pre B cells which we were told is very good. He immediately was admitted to the hospital and started chemotherapy. We spent the next 30+ days on the 6th Floor of Children's Hospital in Omaha, NE. Christian will endure approximately 8 months of intense chemotherapy. His total treatment to keep the Leukemia away will be approximately 3.5 years.
The month prior to Christian's diagnosis he was just not himself. He quit walking up steps and was more irritable than usual. He has never been a good eater but as of the end of June 2009 he pretty much quit eating everything. Thankfully he willing drank Pediasure. An appointment was made for him to see a GI doctor, but the only date available was at the end of the July. We thought that once he would start eating maybe he would feel better. Little did anyone know how hard his little body was fighting. He was admitted with his white blood cell count being 155,000. Normal is 8,000 and under. Christian is being treated under the High Risk Protocol because of the high white blood cell count he had when he was diagnosed. He was also severly anemic. We could not believe how a few blood transfusions perked him up and how good he finally felt.
Treatments for the first couple of months went well for Christian. We had a couple of hospital stays due to fevers and viruses. At the end of October 2009 that all seemed to change. What we thought was initially a spinal headache, Christian was diagnosed with Pseudotumor Cerebri in November 2009. Pseudotumor Cerebri literally means "false tumor." It is due to high pressure within the skull caused by buildup or poor absorption of cerebrospinal fluid. Christian's doctor believes this was caused from the Intrathecal Methotrexate that was used during his repeat spinal tap treatments. Christian was treated with the diuretic, Diamox, and repeat spinal taps to relieve the pressure in his skull. After nearly 4 months on the diuretic Christian's pressure returned to normal. We met with a Neuro Opthamologist and feel confident there is no permanent damage to his optic nerves. Our continued goal is to keep Christian happy and healthy. We praise God daily for continuing to heal Christian. Our family appreciates your prayers and support during Christian's treatment and recovery.