For those of you who don’t know Luca’s story, I want to share a little about our boy and how we found out that he has leukemia. On Monday, December 18th, Luca had his kindergarten Christmas party at school. Looking back, he probably felt terrible - but he was such a trooper and so excited to be there with his friends. The 2 months leading up to this date, Luca had been sick a few times and complaining of back pain (specifically after falling at recess). He was having a hard time running and playing, so we took him to his pediatrician and the chiropractor to get checked out. Both agreed it was likely musculoskeletal and so we scheduled adjustments for him. On the 19th after his party, he fell asleep almost instantly as soon as we got in the car. He had again complained of back pain and was having a harder time getting up/down from the floor without walking up his legs with his hands. I called the pediatrician and asked if we could get a STAT x-ray at the hospital. My mama gut also told me to request STAT blood work (thank God). We went right to the hospital and they got him right in for both. The next day I hadn’t heard from the pediatrician so was hopeful that ‘no news was good news’ and waited until lunchtime to call him. Upon calling the office, I was transferred directly to our pediatrician. I was then told that his x-rays came back normal but that his blood work was indicative of leukemia. The pediatrician had just gotten off the phone with U of M moments prior to me calling to let them know of the blood work results and to let them know that he was calling us and recommending we make our way there as soon as possible. The rest is a blur. I got home where Larry and our moms were waiting. We started our trip to Ann Arbor, where they were expecting us when we arrived. Luca was in good spirits and Larry and I were at a loss of words, thoughts. We were praying the results were wrong, that it was just a fluke. At this time, the first night in the ER, as we were waiting on the results, our sweet boy drew a picture of him and I holding hands with a big sunshine - he wrote ‘It is a sunny day’ at the top. To us, it was the longest, darkest day of our lives. There were no windows. The minutes felt like hours. It was nearing the winter solstice and was truly one of the longest days of the year. We were scared, sick... in disbelief how we were there. How our sweet boy could be facing such a scary and life-changing diagnosis. Yet, through it all - this is where his head was. He was dreaming of sunny days. This is why this has been our motto since finding out about his diagnosis. We are determined to look forward to the sunny days ahead. To look forward to the answered prayers and all the good memories to be made. We know that he will beat this. To know Luca is to love Luca. He is a ray of sunshine and loved by so many. He is SO special, kind, smart, and wise beyond his years. We love him so much and he means the world to us. He is our everything and we just know that there are SO many sunny days ahead!!! It is a sunny day Luca Douglas, you’ve got this!! ☀️