Support Ethan's Brave Fight Against Cancer

I am the neighbor of an amazing boy. On December 17th, 2021, Ethan was diagnosed with B-cell ALL Leukemia. He immediately started treatments at Primary Children’s Hospital. Ethan’s medical professionals laid out a 2 1/2 year plan. Ethan went through rigorous rounds of chemotherapy to treat his cancer. Ethan finished his last chemo on April 8th, 2024. Our family and doctors were excited and beyond proud of Ethan. On April 24th, 2024, Ethan rang the bell and we celebrated Ethan being cancer-free! He had fought so hard and was so diligent in his treatments. Never once has he complained about his circumstances or the experiences he has been through.

The following week, Ethan knew that something was wrong. On May 3rd, 2024, Ethan’s cancer was back. His cancer was detected at such a small level, 1/1,000,000. Little did we know that his cancer would be so aggressive. Doctors across the country and world began making a plan of action for Ethan. Doctors started testing our family for a potential bone marrow match for Ethan. At the end of May, we found out that Mason is Ethan’s 100% bone marrow match.

In June, Ethan qualified for a CarT study in the UK. Ethan’s T-cells were harvested at Primary Children’s Hospital and then shipped to the UK for treatment. As we waited for Ethan’s T-cells to come back, Ethan’s cancer was growing out of control. Doctors tried several chemos to get Ethan’s cancer under control in preparation for the T-cells to come back. Ethan’s T-cells came back from the UK in July. Doctors continued to try to treat Ethan’s cancer and finally made the decision to go ahead with the T-cells even though Ethan was considered very high risk for this procedure. On August 27th, they gave Ethan his T-cells and the T-cells began fighting the cancer like crazy. Ethan has had several bumps in the road since his cancer came back. What we thought would be a fun summer turned into Ethan staying at Primary Children’s Hospital all summer long. Now Ethan has had several stays at the PICU as they are more fit for his needs when Ethan needs additional medical attention.

Ethan’s team of doctors are hopeful that the T-cell treatment will work to get Ethan back into remission so we can start a bone marrow transplant. Ethan’s journey is far from over as a bone marrow transplant is a very risky procedure and can have multiple scary side effects. Ethan’s immunity will be as if he were an infant again. It will take several months for his body to build an immunity. Ethan will stay at Primary Children’s Hospital for several weeks before he will be able to come home.

As you know, Ethan is the biggest Kansas City Chiefs fan, and so our current analogy is that we need a Hail Mary in order for all the doors to line up for Ethan. We are praying and faithful that this miracle can happen! We are grateful for Ethan’s incredible team of medical professionals! We are also so thankful for all of the love, support, and prayers we’ve received for Ethan and on our family’s behalf! Ethan is a fighter!! Please continue to pray for Ethan and his medical team!