& Well A WILL TO BE Local Wish-Fulfillment Organizations Shine Some Light into the Lives of Childhood Cancer Patients
Will Abernathy
{ W R IT T E N BY E L ISABE T H WA R R I C K }
to
look at him, you’d never
know. Will Abernathy has bouncy blonde curls, big blue eyes and as much energy as any average 4 year old, possibly even more. But Will has to deal with something most kids his age don’t: neuroblastoma, a cancer that, according to the Mayo Clinic’s Web site, develops in the nerve cells and occurs most often in children under 5 years old. In the fall of 2010, Will appeared to be a completely healthy toddler. Then he began showing signs of leg pain. Thinking that he had perhaps pulled a muscle, Will’s mother took him to the doctor’s office where, even after a thorough examination, they couldn’t find anything wrong with him. A few weeks later, Will began vomiting regularly. His parents, Melody and Don, made several trips to the emergency room and Will was eventually admitted to the hospital. When his symptoms did not improve, the doctors were forced to investigate further. A series of x-rays revealed a tumor on his left adrenal gland. This boy, who previously had only made “well visits” to his pediatrician, was diagnosed with Stage IV cancer. The primary tumor on his adrenal gland was revealed to have spread throughout his bones, his arms, his legs, the back of his spine and had started to form another tumor on the back of his skull. They started treatment the next day. Following his diagnosis in November 2010, Will has undergone six rounds of chemotherapy at Children’s Healthcare
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ABERNATHY FAMILY
ptsnorth.com | September 2012 | Points North
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