My name is Ceceile Hosten, and I am doing this LFEBridge for my super awesome nephew, Jahleel DeRoux, to help him live his dreams and create memories for his family that will last a lifetime. My wonderful nephew, Jahleel DeRoux is fighting a battle that no child should have to go through, the battle of cancer. Jahleel is the strongest person I know. His fight against cancer has inspired so many. Before cancer, Jahleel was a typical active, fun-loving, and playful 7year old. After the diagnosis, Jahleel has displayed the fortitude of someone much, much older. I see him struggle during his journey and experience how strong he is and it encourages me to remain hopeful and to never give up. Listen to his mom describe Jahleel cancer journey: My son, Jahleel, was diagnosed with left femur (thigh) osteosarcoma on August 12, 2016. Jahleel presented with an increasing complaint of left lateral knee pain after quite an eventful summer including swimming, roller skating and bike riding, etc. The pain was initially thought to be a ligament sprain due to quite a few falls and twists from all of the activities. It turned out to be worse than expected. The primary care doctor was seen on July 29th, Jahleel was sent for an X-ray, less than 2 hours after the X-ray I was called and told to get him to the children's hospital ASAP. August 1st was our first visit with the Solid Tumor team at Children's. He gradually began having increased difficulty bearing weight and moving the left knee, he needed to use crutches and eventually needed a wheelchair for long distances. From that first doctor visit it has been a whirlwind of tests that my son was subjected to at the tender age of 7 including MRI, bone biopsy (the first time he has been under anesthesia), bone scan, X-Rays, GFR, echocardiogram and CT Scans. He was experiencing severe left knee pain for which he had to take pain medication every 4-6 hours. He officially began chemotherapy on August 24th, the same day he had his port for chemotherapy put in. The next 1 and 1/2 to 2 weeks were rough for him due to severe throat pain from the breathing tube he had inserted during surgery plus a dose of chemotherapy received all in 1 day but the knee pain went away after that first chemo treatment. He was weak, in pain, fatigued and couldn't eat much. He lost weight. Jahleel was hospitalized almost every week for chemotherapy or when compromised to treat neutropenia. He underwent chemotherapy for 10 months. He has had several surgeries, including a limb salvage procedure to remove the cancer and implant a left knee and femur prosthesis which resulted in his use of crutches to ambulate. Since he was first diagnosed, Jahleel had 4 recurrences of osteosarcoma in his right hip, neck, left 7th rib and most recently in both lungs. Two of those times resulted in additional surgeries with one being a partial right hip replacement and the other a left 7th rib resection, twice. He had to undergo either chemotherapy or radiation for each recurrence. Despite all of this, Jahleel is a true warrior and a trooper. He still tries to keep up and play with his siblings and friends, and wants to go to church and attend his club meetings. He is still goofy and silly most times. Despite all the treatments throughout his journey, the cancer has metastasized. The news after his most recent scans in March was not the news we were expecting or hoped for. Some of the lesions in Jahleel’s lungs have doubled in size. Surgery is not an option since he has multiple lesions in both lungs. He is currently back in chemotherapy. The infusions were too taxing on Jahleel mentally and emotionally and just the thought of having his port accessed caused him severe anxiety and stress every session. Hence, he is in a trial session with oral chemo medication to stop the lesions from growing or keep them at bay. Jahleel is terrified. When he was told the status of his last therapy he said to his parents, “Mommy and Daddy, I just have to live my life, I am tired and this is too much.” He is often in a lot of pain and has decreased appetite due to frequent abdominal discomfort which has led to significant weight loss since this current treatment. It hurts his parents, siblings, and all of our hearts to see him suffer so much day after day. I know he is so drained physically, mentally and emotionally. His parents are also seriously considering the natural route and someone shared with them a report of a study that had positive results in some forms of cancer. They are willing to try anything. However, these centers are very costly and he cannot go alone being a minor. Jahleel started making as he calls it a “Life List” (“bucket list”) on his own and shared it with his parents and siblings. They are as follows: -Family trip to Barbados -Meet Mr. Beast and maybe other YouTube Influencers -Go to Disney World with a Fast Pass -Try In-N-Out Burgers and all Wingstop flavors -Family trip to Japan -Go to Rainforest Café -Eat a Whataburger -Go indoor skydiving -Make donuts -Bake a cake from scratch -Shoot a bow and arrow -Help other kids with cancer, especially with his diagnosis -Visit his best friend and family in Alabama Please help me make my precious nephew's dreams a reality. From the bottom of my heart, I humbly ask that you share this link with friends and family and if possible in giving to this LFEBridge set up for Jahleel. I thank you for your support and God bless every one of you!!
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