My Teenage Son’s Cancer Diagnosis Rocked My World

My 14-year-old received a scary diagnosis, and it changed my life.

The year was 2014, and my life was full of shuffling kids to school and activities and working. I barely ever had time to sit down and relax.

One day, just as my feet hit the front door, my son Ricky told me he didn’t feel well. He said his side hurt, causing him to throw up. Ricky was never sick, and if he caught a virus, he never complained. He didn’t look well. As tired as I was from a 12-hour shift, I had to take him to the ER to figure out what was causing his pain.

Ricky’s Off To Surgery

When we arrived at the ER, they asked him a few questions. After examining him, the doctor told me they had to admit him. He thought it was his appendix, but he couldn’t be sure until the CT scan results returned.

They got us settled in his room. Another doctor arrived to let us know his appendix looked infected on the CT scan, so he must have surgery. He told me they would send his appendix to pathology to ensure it was just an infection. I asked what else it could be.

The doctor replied, “It could be cancer, but that would be very rare.”