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Hunter loves trucks and cars. He spends countless hours smashing, crashing, stacking, jumping and lining up his vehicles. Monster trucks, fire engines, semi's, dump trucks, hot wheels, racecars and 4x4's fill his toy boxes. When the weather is nice outside, Hunter loves to practice hitting golf balls in our back yard. He is really good for his age. He can drive the ball a long way! Hunter also loves to go on 4 wheeler rides with his uncles. When he isn't playing with his toys, Hunter loves to watch Blue's Clue & Scooby Doo videos, be read to and playing games on the computer.

Hunter dislikes eating most foods, taking his medicine, having the tape removed from his Hickman dressing and going to bed.

Hunter is a very special child. He is full of life, giving & happiness. He is very sensitive to others needs and feelings. He is eager to help and the first to offer. He is very smart and a fast learner. Everywhere he goes he makes people smile and laugh. He will always brighten your day and warm your heart.

When It All Started

It was September 18, 2000. We were just getting adjusted to a series of changes in our family life. Hunter's baby brother, Logan was just born in June. He was finally getting over the jealousy issue. I had just started back for my first day of work after a maternity leave. My husband had just started a new job a few weeks earlier. We were in the early stages of planning a trip to Arizona in the spring. But instead, our lives changed forever that day.

When I got home from work, my husband showed me one of Hunter's diapers. It was full of blood. I called his pediatrician and made an appointment to come in later that day. My husband had to go to work. So, he dropped the baby off at his parent's house, and I took Hunter to see his doctor. After his doctor saw his diaper and gave him an examination, he gave me a preliminary report. He felt a mass, the size of a peach, on the left side of his abdomen. He believed it was a tumor. At first he sent us to have an ultrasound done, but then changed his mind. He had contacted a nearby hospital, (The University of Wisconsin Children's Hospital in Madison Wisconsin) which specializes in childhood illnesses. We were to go there as soon as possible. They were going to admit Hunter and do testing to find out what they were dealing with. The hospital is located approximately 45 minutes away from our house.

I drove with Hunter to my in-laws house. I needed to get a hold of my husband at work, make arrangements for Logan to be taken care of and get everything packed. My father-in-law left a message for my husband to come home immediately. My in-laws were going to take care of the baby. Now, we needed to get to the hospital.

When we got to the hospital, Hunter was admitted and immediately an i.v. Was placed in him. After several attempts, they finally found a vein that would work. Hunter was unbelievable! He did not cry. They drew blood for testing. Next, he was given a CT scan. The preliminary reports showed there was something in both of his kidneys. More testing was ordered.

My husband and I stayed over night with Hunter in his hospital room. The next day, Hunter was taken to have an abdominal ultrasound, chest x-rays and more blood tests. A double biopsy was to be preformed the next day. After three long hours, the biopsy was finished. They had found exactly what they had expected. Tumors. The right kidney was a solid tumor and the left kidney had three solid tumors in it. During the biopsy, they inserted a central line or Hickman catheter in his chest. His incision from the surgery is above his belly button, across his stomach from hip to hip. He had tubes all over his body. He was pale and very scared. I can still hear his little voice saying his first words in the recovery room, "Mommy, I don't feel good." I almost started to cry.

On September 19th, 2000 Hunter was diagnosed with bilateral Wilms' tumor or Nephroblastoma. This is a rare form of this kind of cancer because it involves both of the kidneys. Wilms' tumor is the 2nd most common extra cranial solid tumor in children. It makes up 7% of all childhood cancers. The incidence is 7/million . Only 5% are bilateral or involve both kidneys.

We decided to be part of the National Wilms' Tumor Study Group #5. Even if Hunter does not benefit from this study, it can help other children in the future. This protocol would consist of chemotherapy and surgery. Hunter's biopsy showed that his tumors were of favorable histology and would be treated as stage two on both sides. The goal for Hunter was to administer chemotherapy to shrink the tumors enough to be able to surgically remove them, while still saving enough kidney function to live.

After 8 days in the hospital Hunter got to go home. He would be getting weekly chemotherapy treatments consisting of vincristine and dactinomycin. After being home for 5 days, he developed a very high fever. He was admitted to the hospital for another 4-day stay. He was given antibiotics to help battle a possible infection, if present. They found no infection.

On October 23, Hunter had another set of chest x-rays, abdominal ultrasound and CT scan. The purpose was to see if the tumors had shrunk. After examining the results, the medical teams felt the tumors had shrunk , but they didn't know if it would be enough to perform a tumor removal or just another biopsy. He had his second surgery on October 25,2000. After approximately 4 hours the surgery was finished. To everyone's surprise, they were able to go ahead with the tumor removal. His right kidney was totally removed. They removed 1/3rd of his left kidney. They were happy with this outcome. They had wanted to leave him with the minimal of 2/3rds of a kidney and that is just what they did. Hunter was kept in the ICU for two days. They needed to keep a close eye on him, his high blood pressure, high heart rate and the functioning of his remaining kidney. After he was stabilized he went into a normal hospital room. He remained in the hospital for 6 days.

Since being released from the hospital, Hunter has been feeling pretty good. He is happy, wants to play and is on the go from the time he wakes up until he falls asleep. Some days it is hard to believe he is so sick. There are bad days when he is tired and does not feel well. We have been going to the hospital for weekly chemotherapy treatments. Hunter has seen his kidney specialist only once so far. She is concerned that his kidney function has not improved. The last test showed his remaining kidney is only functioning at 40%. She was also concerned with his high blood pressure and started him on an oral tablet to get it under control. They are going to watch him closely for the start of renal failure. [Top of Page]