August 28, 2019 is a day our family will never forget. The night before, my son Judah ran a fever and we didn’t really know what was wrong. Since he was so little, he couldn’t tell us what was going on in his little body. So, I gave him some tylenol and we rocked in the chair and I sang him back to sleep. The next morning I called and made an appointment with our pediatrician. I thought we would go in and get some antibiotics and be on our way home. Boy, was I wrong. While we were there I mentioned a few other strange things I had noticed before the fever- just in case they may be helpful for the doctor to know. Things like a bloated belly, some bruises on his legs, and a small swollen lymph node on the back of his head.  When the doctor examined him, she didn’t see anything that raised any concerns but decided to do some lab work just in case we were missing something. When the phlebotomist came in to draw labs for a second time, I immediately had a sense that something was very wrong. He kept his composure and assured me everything was fine, but this mama knew better. Soon after the second blood draw our doctor came in (she’s amazing) and told me that with the symptoms I had mentioned to her and his blood work she was concerned that Judah could possibly have Leukemia. She told me that we needed to go to CHOA immediately and that she was going to call them and let them know we were on our way. Those words washed over me like a wave that knocks into you so hard that you can’t remember where your legs are or how to use them. Somehow I managed to pick up the phone and call my husband and the words didn’t even seem to belong to me….”get here now and we need someone to keep the other 2 boys…we have to go to CHOA right away because Judah may have Leukemia.” After I hung up with my husband I immediately scooped up my little bug and began to weep and pray. I remembered the scripture that says “The Lord is near the broken hearted” and I could sense that the Lord was near and ever present, even in this situation that seemed so bleak. My husband got there very quickly although it seemed like hours had passed. We loaded Judah up and sent our other boys off with some close friends and we headed straight to CHOA. Soon after we got there Judah was diagnosed with B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. He immediately  got his port placed and was started on his first chemo regimen. We spent close to a month inpatient there before heading home. We are now in the maintenance phase of chemo. The Lord has been so kind to us through this journey and we are ever reminded that even though we may face difficult seasons in this life, “we have a hope that we can unwaveringly hold fast to because He who promised is faithful” Hebrews 10:23. We are so thankful for foundations like P4 who are like beacons of hope reminding us that we are not in this fight alone. Judah is one tough little man and he WILL win this battle.