Dear Friends and Family

Yancy and I have very unfortunate news we have to share with you. While mass e-mail is such an impersonal communication method, this is the best method for us due to limited time for phone calls and our current emotional state.

Our tough little Ethan was diagnosed with Leukemia yesterday, Monday. Yesterday began with us taking a trip into the pediatrician’s office, as Ethan was showing abnormal post-operation symptoms from his cochlear implant operation. His appetite had decreased substantially, his gums were bleeding, and he was beginning to show significant bruising. Not being able to tell much, they sent us to get lab work. Later that afternoon, the pediatrician’s office called us to come back in. At 4:30 pm, Ethan and I arrived there, to hear the words “leukemia”.

We went home, regrouped, called in family support from MA, CT, and NY. At 7:30pm last night, Yancy, Ethan and I arrived at the Emergency Room at Children’s Hospital Boston. The pediatrician’s office had called ahead, allowing for us to be seen right away, and Ethan was in his private room by 3:30 a.m. Last night and today have been occupied with tests, Dr’s consultations, and many tears. Ethan on the other hand is thoroughly enjoying the PlayStation 2 in his room.

We have learned just recently this form of Leukemia is called AML. We want the Dr’s to be open and honest with us, so we will do the same with you. Very bottom-line is that Ethan will be in the hospital for approximately 6 months receiving his chemotherapy treatments. The Dr’s give AML a 60% recovery rate. At the end of 6 months, if your recovered, it’s gone for good. However, it gets tricky if the cancer doesn’t respond well to the chemo (leukemia cells don’t diminish at the rate they should) …after the first month of treatment, they say they will have a pretty good idea of how it’s responding. If it’s not responding well, another course of action is discussed – bone marrow transplant.

We’re so not ready to go there, and only at the beginning of digesting all this information. We’re taking this day-by-day right now, actually hour-by-hour…

Ethan will go into the OR tomorrow morning, under general anesthesia, and have a spinal tap, bone marrow samples taken, and have something put in his chest to allow for blood to be drawn and medicine to be given throughout the next 6 months. From these samples taken tomorrow morning, the Dr’s will have even more conclusive findings as to the make-up of the Leukemia.

This was not caused by his cochlear implant surgery. The surgery did not bring it on sooner. It’s pure coincidence. Perhaps good timing, in that we were closely monitoring Ethan’s health for the last two weeks, and maybe caught is sooner than we would have otherwise. We will be holding off on “activating” Ethan’s new cochlear implant. We’re going to let him beat this thing first, and then we’ll focus on him hearing in his “new” ear.

My mom is home with Emma and Eliot. Yancy and I stayed over last night, and tonight with Ethan. I will be primarily staying with Ethan throughout this journey. We’re still in the early phases of planning out our family life over the next few months. We’re not quite sure what we’ll need, but as soon as we know, we will let you know. I’m sure we’ll have a whole list of things! If you’d like to call in the next week or two, it’d be best to reach Yancy or I via e-mail or on our cell phones. (would you believe there’s a laptop in Ethan’s room for us!)

Ethan needs lots of prayers right now. He’s brave and strong, but has a long road ahead of him. We know we’ll get through this, and our job is to help him through this. We’re giving him as much information as he can handle at one time.

There’s a little boy here, Charlie, who’s already introduced himself to Ethan, and lent him
his Cars movie. Charlie has the same thing Ethan has, except he’s in his third – fourth month here. So, Ethan has a lot to learn from 4 year old Charlie, and we will certainly benefit from having Charlie’s parents to talk to and learn from.

Over the next week we’ll start a blog on www.lentfamily.org . So keep checking there for updates…we’ll definitely keep you posted.

Please, lots of prayers!

Ethan’s Address at the Hospital:
Ethan Lent
6 North, Room 620, Children’s Hospital Boston
300 Longwood Avenue
Boston, MA 02115