Where to start???
A little housekeeping before I dive in. This blog was started many moons ago when I, Beau Hudson Soulier, entered the world WAY too early. Mom started posting updates to this blog as a way for everyone to keep tabs on me and my progress. Well, fast forward to my now 12 (basically 13) year old self, and I am STILL causing problems! Mom thought this may be a good place to continue my story, so she dug up my old blog, gave it a very basic rebrand and there you have it.... The Book of Beau.
As many of you know, this past month has kind of thrown us for a loop. I was in Panama City Beach living my best summer life, as I am known to do, with one of my best buds (please refer back to my March 2012 posts for Sawyer's introduction) and started having some pain on my right side - stomach/shoulder/chest. Aunt Al was able to get me in with a pediatrician who sent me for an x-ray due to diminished breathing on my right side. Low and behold, I did have a little fluid in my right lung, but they actually saw a dense spot on my left lung, as well. What the sigma?!?!
Uncle Craig got me back to Baton Rouge late that night, Mom scooped me up on the side of the interstate, and we went straight to Children's. After a full night of testing, scans, poking and prodding, the doctor's told us that I had a tumor the size of a baseball on the outside of my left lung...say what???
I'm sure you noticed if you followed my NICU journey back then, but we (I mean, Mom) tend to get a little long winded so to save you from allllll the details, here is my best stab at a basic summary and timeline of the past month:
- June 21st - Biopsy of the mass
- June 28th - We met with the oncologist, Dr. Sims, to get the results from the biopsy. She informed us that the tumor was malignant and showed abnormal cells, small round blue cells to be specific. A sample obtained from the biopsy was sent to St. Jude in Memphis to test further.
- July 3rd - I underwent a PET scan to see if there were any other spots in my big, beautiful body. Here, I met my favorite nurse...no offense to the others, but she only had to stick me once so she gets my vote! We met with Dr. Sims right after and she told us the scan did not show any other spots from what she could see, YAY, however the biopsy came back favoring a type of bone cancer, Ewing's sarcoma. I mean, way to ruin a kid's July 4th!!! It didn't stop me from celebrating with my cousins or making my way to Grand Isle though, not to worry! Pics for proof below:
- July 15th - This was port placement day, bone marrow biopsy day, and they also re-biopsied the tumor to basically confirm the original diagnosis of ES.
- July 23rd - First trip to the St. Jude affiliate clinic (here in Baton Rouge) to access my port for the first time, sign consents with Dr. Sims, and go over all the things! Talk about information overload!! They got me to a room that afternoon to start me on fluids and sheesh...I've never peed so much in my life! Dad got me all set up with my PS5 and we stayed up til wee hours of the morning playing the new college football '25 game (shhh...don't tell mom!). Just FYI - my chemo treatments will be inpatient, meaning they have me locked in this joint the entire time. They claim it is so they can give me fluids the whole time I am receiving treatment in order to flush the chemo through my system. Let's be honest though, they just want to hang out with me, and I do not blame them one bit!
- July 24th - It was GO TIME! I received three types of chemo on day 1 and totally crushed it!! To be honest, I was given a hefty dose of benadryl and slept right through the first two and had some visitors to pass the time while the third type was being administered. I had a great day overall and did not have any yucky side effects except for a little metallic taste in my mouth.
- So that brings us to today, Day 2 of my "VDC" treatment. I will let Mom give y'all your lesson in all things chemo and treatment because it makes my head spin! All I know is that I get just 1 chemo today and can go home after my fluid's are finished around 2:30, whoop whoop!
I will continue to keep everyone posted, but I am sure you will hear from Theresa soon...
Before I go, I just want to say thank you for all of your prayers and support. I mean, this whole cancer thing is pretty crazy, and I can't say that I ever thought this would be the next chapter in my story, but my parents keep telling me God only gives his toughest warriors these crosses to bear. Well now it all makes sense =). And like I've been telling my friends...you better watch out because when I shed a few pounds and my hair grows back, I am going to be getting ALL the females!! Definitely a silver lining to this whole ordeal!
Be cool,
Beau
