Meet Gaby, Mike and their beautiful boy, Lucas!  Mike found me on instagram and inquired about a family session. I quickly browsed his IG (yes, sometimes a do a quick “police check” on insta DMs, ha!) and saw he had a handsome little boy who had been diagnosed with childhood Leukemia. My heart sank. This little boy was just a year older than my own son, Shea, and yet had endured so much in his 3 years of life! I knew I wanted to gift them the gift of memories and meet this little fighter.

Our session went so smoothly. Lucas is just the sweetest, happiest, little boy.  Such an old soul that seems already so wise beyond his years. I imagine his experiences has something to do with that <3 It was so so lovely to meet you, all! 

LUKEY’S STORY:

At the age of 15 months, just shortly after his first birthday, our sweet baby boy Lucas was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, or ALL, and our whole lives completely changed.

Prior to his diagnosis, Lukey was a happy, seemingly healthy baby boy, yet shortly after his first birthday he increasingly showed signed of illness that we couldn’t explain. He was paler than usual, he was quieter than normal, he was bruising easily, he had a distended tummy that wouldn’t go down, he had swollen eyelids and he suffered a great deal of pain after a mild fall that left him unable to walk.

As a mom, I just knew something was seriously wrong with our baby boy. He was due for a check up with his doctor in a few days, but it wasn’t until one afternoon that he woke up from a nap covered in tiny pinpoint red and purple spots (or petechiae as I would quickly learn) all over his arm, that we knew it was something very, very serious. We got in to do bloodwork the next morning and it was that afternoon, that we were told to rush to the hospital, not knowing that we would remain there for the next 3 1/2 months.

So his journey with cancer began. A journey that no child should ever have to go through. It has been a gruelling 1 1/2 years out of 3 years of treatment that he will have to undergo, with regular chemotherapy, lumbar punctures and not to mention a number of other health problems that have occurred as a result of his diagnosis. Our sweet Lukey has been through so much. He has had to endure more pain and suffering than most adults have in a lifetime, yet he’s the strongest person I will ever know. His unbelievable strength, courage and resilience is unlike anything I’ve ever seen and he does it all while continuing to be the sweet, kind, silly little boy that he’s always been. 

He has taught us so much about life and has given us an entirely new perspective about faith, hope and about the truly important things in life. He has given us a new view of the world around us and allowed us to open our eyes and hearts to see and appreciate the beauty in the moments that surround us. He has made our lives and the lives of those around him infinitely greater and Mike and I are so blessed and honoured to call him our son, our beautiful Super Lukey. 

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