Nathanael {fall for charity}

Meet Becki {and her sweet son Nathanael}

She is a wife

a cancer mom

a neighbor

a friend

Three years ago, her youngest son Nathanael began a fight she never wanted him to fight.

A fight for his life.

He is strong.

and brave.

and without a doubt

a child of God.

While in his presence

his sweet spirit touches your soul.

Here is his story:

Nathanael was born on May 4, 2006 with Down syndrome. While we knew that he may have Down Syndrome based on a prenatal screening test, we didn't know for sure until he was born. It was still a shock and very scary, as we learned that in addition to being developmentally delayed (which is a big enough challenge), he would also be more likely to have a myriad of serious health issues. One such possibility was Leukemia. Still, it was devastating to actually get that diagnosis on February 22, 2009 .


Nathanael had been sick for about 2 weeks previous to his diagnosis; he stopped crawling, pushing up into sitting or cruising. He had no energy and just sat around all day. We had already been to the doctor's office 3 times and had blood drawn 5 times before he was finally admitted into the hospital. His pediatricians' best guess was that he had a virus and that it may take a few weeks to resolve. Finally, when his right elbow started swelling up and he was in obvious excruciating pain, and he just wasn't getting any better, we knew there had to be more to his illness and we were determined to figure out what was really going on.


But, nothing prepares parents to receive the news that their child has a life-threatening disease such as cancer. In that instant our lives were changed forever, and thus began a three year and three month journey back and forth to Primary Children's Medical Center for chemotherapy injections, back pokes, blood draws, inpatient admits, and the constant worry that our son might not make it. But, thankfully, he did make it and finally finished treatment on May 21, 2012. He still goes back to the hospital monthly for check-ups and the "what ifs" sometimes creep into our minds, but for now, we are just grateful that our son is one of the lucky ones.

Lou la Belle Photography's Fall for Charity Event

will be raising money for childhood cancer research.

We will be partnering with Nathanael's team

Than's Fans

and raising money for CureSearch

Nathanael's story has a happy ending

not every cancer story does.

Let's end this today

together.

Do it for Nathanael.

Do it for Dax.

Do it for Me.

xo,

Haylee

For all those who have children who have fought this fight, those who are still fighting and those who have passed on..

our prayer are your prayers

and they are fervent

{* more information on our Fall for Charity will be posted this weekend.*}