December 24th, 2009 was the day I found out my little brother, Hayden, had a type of cancer called ewing's sarcoma. Ewing’s sarcoma is type of bone cancer that occurs in adolescents and very rarely occurs in adults. The tumor usually occurs in the midsections of the femur, tibia, and humerus, but my brother had it in his face. During a routine dentist visit, the dentist noticed a mass on the roof of Hayden’s mouth and told us to get it checked.

Hayden had to go through biopsies, MRI’s, cat scans, and have labs done multiple times. After his biopsy, the left side of Hayden's face was really swollen. “It looked like he was holding a tennis ball in his mouth,” said my cousins. After the doctors ran more tests they announced to us that it was cancer, and was rare to have in the face bones. For treatment, he had to go to the University of Minnesota (U of M), where he received chemotherapy. As soon as I stepped off the elevator onto the 5th floor, I could tell it was intended just for kids. They had turtle tiles all over the floor, and each of them were designed by the patients and their siblings. There were tricycles and car shaped wagons for the kids to ride around on, a playroom with lots of art supplies and books, and the hospital even had their own “TV game show” for the kids to watch and participate in. Even though there was oodles of activities to participate in, the hospital was not all fun and games. Every week when my brother would go up to receive treatment. My mom and dad took turns stay overnight with him. I only stayed a few times and it was not as fun as I expected.

Every hour a nurse would come in and examine the buzzing and beeping machines, shining her flashlight around the room. Or the loudspeaker would come on indicating that there was some type of emergency. On Wednesday December 13th, Hayden had a bone marrow biopsy, a spinal tap, and had a port put in. The port is a device that went under his skin just above his heart to deliver his chemo medication. Everyone was nervous, but it got worse when he became unresponsive; until my mom screamed for help. And for the next eight months that was our life, running back and forth between home and the bustling hospital.

Eventually the doctors decided chemo was not enough, but they could not surgically remove the tumor because of its location. They decided it was time to try radiation. If my brother had traditional radiation at the U of M his brain would have received unnecessary radiation. My parents decided it was best to go to Boston where Proton Therapy was available. Proton Therapy could pinpoint exactly where the beams of radiation should go. So off they went, Mom and Hayden to Boston. I eventually joined them for the remainder of the time after school let out. They were renting an apartment right across from the hospital that had a floor designated for young patients. It was called Christopher’s Haven. There we met many fun-loving kids, most of whom we still keep in touch with. Being right across from the hospital was a tremendous help and not to far for Hayden when he wasn’t feeling well. Radiation was supposed to be every day for thirty-one days, except it ended up taking two and a half months. If he was too sick or his cell counts were too low he could not receive the treatment. Boston had its ups and downs, so we were all glad when it was time to go home.

We arrived home on July 10th and when we pulled onto our street in a firetruck, driven by a family family. Our lawn was filled with friends and family, who were there to welcome us home. Even though radiation was over he still had chemo until August 6th, 2010 which was the end of his final round.

As of August 26th, 2010 Hayden has been in remission. He still has scans every few months and has lots of sinus issues. Even though ewing’s sarcoma in the face bones is rare, Hayden pulled through. We learned many new things and made lots of new friends along the way. In Hayden’s words, “Don’t be scared. Just believe in yourself and stay strong.”