Thank you for supporting me and the more than 300,000 kids worldwide who will be diagnosed with cancer this year. By sharing the gifts of your time, talent and money with the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, you're supporting research to give all kids with cancer a better chance for a cure.  Lucas’s story that led to his ALL diagnosis started in early February 2023 when Lucas randomly complained of his feet/ankles being sore. Being an active and growing 6 year old, we chalked it up to growing pains. He had been eating more than usual and seemed due for a growth spurt, so it made sense to us. February 15th we headed to Hawaii for some sunshine. Lucas continued to complain of sore ankles and feet, and sometimes his left shin while we were on vacation. We'd rub his feet and legs and he'd put on a tough face and move on. We noticed he seemed kind of lazy, didn't want to swim in the pool the entire time (which is completely out of character for Lucas), and that he was laying around a lot more, and sleeping more as well. Again, we figured he was a growing boy, and maybe just needed the extra rest. Nobody was going to give him a hard time about being lazy on vacation.  February 28th we returned home, and resumed "normal life" on Wednesday, March 1st. Both Lucas and his brother, Nathan, went to school Wednesday through Friday and all was good. After school on Friday, both boys took the dogs on a walk around the block. When they returned, Lucas complained his feet, ankles and left leg were all hurting. He got on the couch and stayed there until he cried himself to sleep around 7pm. At that point, it was decided something was definitely wrong. Saturday, March 4, he woke up, crawled from his room to the couch, and immediately fell back to sleep. Kim (Mom) took Lucas to ER where she explained that this is completely out of character, and described the pain he had complained of. Lucas fell asleep more than once while being shuffled around at the ER, solidifying the idea that something just wasn’t right. Blood work was performed at Kim's insistence (and unbeknownst to us, labs were confirmed a second time before delivering the news), and then they told Kim something no parent ever wants to hear..."preliminary bloodwork indicates leukemia" A whirlwind of activity commenced, and several tests later found Lucas hospitalized and undergoing treatment for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Lucas will take his last dose of Chemotherapy on July 11, 2025, 860 days after his diagnosis. We could never have imagined going through this, but it was made easier by the wonderful team at the Providence Children’s Hospital. Their support, dedication, and knowledge has made this journey as smooth as possible. One of the first things we were told after Lucas’s diagnosis was that there was already a specific treatment plan in place for his leukemia and there were no medical trials even open for his type of leukemia. This is all thanks to Childhood Cancer Research, so when you donate please know that you are making a difference to children like Lucas and we sincerely thank you!