Canyon - Glennallen

Canyon was 9 years old living a highly active lifestyle in Glennallen, Alaska. He loves camping, hunting, fishing, and trapping from open to the close of every season. He enjoys riding his snowmachine, playing with his dogs, chickens and turkeys, jumping on the trampoline, and spending time with family and friends. He was in 4th grade, on the ski team, archery team, loved playing basketball, and playing tag with his friends. This winter he was learning how to ice skate and play hockey. Canyon injured his knee while playing tag at school and a couple of weeks later in March, he fell on the ice. There was no swelling or bruising the first injury but when he fell on the ice his knee began to swell. I took him to the doctor to have an x-ray done and I never expected what was coming next. About 4 days later I received a call from the doctor that we had to come back in. They told us that we needed to get to an oncologist in Anchorage right away as they think he has bone cancer in his left leg. After contacting the pediatric oncologist of Anchorage on the phone, we were told to get to Seattle Children's Hospital now. They said don't waste time coming to Anchorage as it was too advanced for them. This was all over one x-ray of Canyon's knee. Within one week of having his knee x-rayed, my husband, myself, and Canyon were on our way to Seattle leaving our then 14-year-old back home so she could finish school. We arrived on the 20th of March and his scans were done on the 21st. On the evening of the 21st, we were taken to a small room with 7 different doctors and nurses (there could have been more in the room, that day was kind of a blur.) They told us that they are quite sure Canyon has osteosarcoma in his left femur bone and a large tumor wrapped around his leg. All I could ask was, "is it anywhere else in his body?"  Both main doctors got a look on their faces that I will never forget. My heart sank as they told us that he is stage 4 with 5 spots already spread into his right upper and lower lung. 

When we came down here, we were thinking a couple of weeks then we can go home to finish treatment. We still have no clue when we might see home again. The only way I can explain the feeling of being here is like being on a twisting, turning, spinning, upside down roller-coaster that never stops. Canyon had a biopsy on his leg on the 22nd of March and with 100% certainty it was osteosarcoma they put in a port for his chemotherapy. With his port in, he was ready to start chemo. The nurses tried to access him but there was no blood return. Five times they tried to access his port, never being successful. Meanwhile, his port site started looking like raw burger. Canyon had to go back into surgery with the IR doctor that only gets called in when there is a problem no one else can fix. It was determined that after the second procedure and his first set of chemo was complete, he needed a solid two weeks where no one touched his port to let the swelling go down. Canyon went from letting anyone mess with his port to being terrified when someone came near him in fear of the pain they would cause. This was not good considering we had 30 weeks of chemo ahead of us. 

Canyon has had a birthday while down here, so he is now 10 and finished 4th grade.  His sister also had a birthday, she is 15 and just finished 9th grade. Calie was able to join us a couple of weeks ago. What a smile she has brought her brother and all of us! It was so hard to have our family spilt up through all of this. We are truly thankful to be together again. Being so far from home, we didn't want to worry if someone didn't make it to our house to feed our dogs or take care of our 40 chickens and turkeys. We sent our dogs to Fairbanks to live with family and gave all our chickens and turkeys away. Canyon completed his 11th week of chemotherapy and had his left leg amputated on the 20th of June, exactly 3 months to the day of arriving in Seattle. He has had a few more bumps and unexpected turns on this path we are taking but otherwise, he is doing better. The pain went away from his leg after chemo started so he went from being in a wheelchair to walking around with a limp. No need to go into detail about the different procedures, blood draws, blood transfusions, constant vomiting, and everything else that goes along with chemotherapy. Cancer SUCKS! No matter what type you have. These kiddos here at the Ronald McDonald House are incredible! All so brave, strong, and full of hope. It is reassuring and strength-building to talk to other families staying here with kids going through the same treatments. When he first found out about his amputation, all he could say was "I'm going to have an Iron-man leg!" We are trying to keep him smiling and happy as much as possible. Canyon is the type of kid that loves life and loves making people laugh. To keep his spirits up through even the worst of days, we have purchased a few pranks that he loves to play on his nurses and doctors. A few of his favorites are the fake poop he leaves over by the nurse's station and in his bed when they come in to change the sheets. He also has a couple of fake snakes in a can that seem to get a lot of people. His absolute favorite is the fart machine. After all, boys will be boys! That one gets a lot of laughs!!!

After Canyon’s leg amputation on June 20, he has 20 more weeks of chemo (if the chemo shortages don't continue).  After his chemo is complete, they will do open chest surgery to remove the spots from his right lung. Canyon is 100% my hero! His smile is infectious and brings so much joy to everyone around him. We are praying and fighting every step of the way, one day at a time.

Along with being on an emotional train wreck, having to drop everything and leave Alaska without warning or time to plan, our heads were spinning, and trying to think straight was impossible. The grant from Katie’s Handprint truly helped with our financial fears about how we would make it work in a place that we had never been.

Recently, Canyon returned to Alaska and spent 3 months enjoying precious time at home with family. His struggles are not over, however, as Canyon is restarting chemo treatments that will continue throughout this year.