Wade's story begins Monday, September 11, 2006. It was mid-morning and Lilly (Wade's mother) was working on schoolwork with Jacob (Wade's 8 year old brother). Wade came up to Lilly and said he was hungry. She jokingly asked Wade that he had to be kidding. She jokingly asked to see his belly, and when he lifted his shirt, she saw a lump.  The lump was located on his left side, just below his ribcage. When she asked him about it, he said it did not hurt. Lilly immediately called their family physician and made an appointment for that afternoon. After an examination with the family physician, the doctor ordered a CT scan for Tuesday morning.

Tuesday’s morning started with getting Wade to drink the barium for the CT scan. He drank it down like it was a thick milkshake. He was scheduled for an 8:30 a.m. CT scan. He was great during the exam! They were then scheduled to see the family physician for the results on Wednesday afternoon.

On Wednesday, Wade's father (JR) took time off work to be with them while they got the results. They received the news that it could possibly be a Wilms tumor. The family physician informed them that Wade would have surgery to remove the tumor. Following the surgery, he could possibly have chemo and radiation depending on the results of the surgery. The family physician ordered an x-ray of the abdomen area. On the order for the x-ray, the words "Kidney cancer" were written. The words hit like a boulder (not a rock). An appointment was made for Thursday with a pediatric surgeon group at the Toledo Children's Hospital.

On Thursday, Wade, JR and Lilly met with the surgeon and surgery was scheduled for Friday morning. Wade and Lilly spent the night at the hospital for additional tests. The doctors did not waste any time.

Friday September 15^th:  Wade underwent a major surgery to remove the tumor, left kidney, and a few lymph nodes. During surgery, a port was placed in the center of his chest for his blood draws and to receive his chemo and any other medications. The tumor was around 4 1/2-5" in diameter and weighed around 5 lb.

Wade spent four and a half days in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and then was transferred to the Pediatric Oncology Department. The pathology report stated that he was in Stage 2 with unfavorable cells. The cancer did not spread into the lymph nodes.

Wade has undergone six radiation treatments and received his last chemo treatment on July 2, 2007. We give thanks to the Lord that he remains cancer free. He has had quite a journey in his battle with cancer. We continue to pray that a cure will be discovered and that no more children and their families will have to suffer.