the unexpected...

This last November I noticed a large, unfamiliar bump on Wyatt's ankle. I knew it didn't look right but Wyatt just sort of brushed it off and thought it was from spraining his ankle playing basketball or football. A few months went by and the bump was still there. We both knew something was wrong and Wyatt decided to make a doctors appointment. 


Wyatt's first appointment was with a general doctor who looked at it and then referred him to a Podiatrist. When the Podiatrist looked at it he said it looked like a ganglion cyst and scheduled a surgery date to have the "cyst" removed. Before the surgery Wyatt had to meet with the Podiatrist one last time to talk about what is going to happen during surgery...etc and then thought he should probably do an MRI before operating on him. (Shouldn't anyone get an MRI before getting cut open?) This should have been ordered first thing! 


About a week later Wyatt went in for his MRI and two weeks later his Podiatrist called him and told him that he needs to go see an oncologist because his MRI didn't look good. He thought Wyatt may have Synovial Sarcoma. This was the start of something very bad.


After Wyatt ended his phone call with the Podiatrist he called me immediately and I could sense the fear in his voice. He was devastated, I was devastated. The thought of him having cancer and this type of cancer was a huge shock to us both. No one ever wants to hear the "C" word. I didn't even want to type in "synovial sarcoma" into the google search for fear of the prognosis. 


From getting the phone call of his MRI results (Monday July 23) until the appointment with the oncologist (Friday July 27) it seemed like eternity. Of course in situations like this you always assume the worst to prepare yourself. 


I have never seen Wyatt like he was this last week, ever. He was very scared. Scared for his life, scared for his family, scared for his kids that they might not ever see him again, scared that his time on this earth may be cut short. 


Friday July 27th we met with Dr. Hiatt, the oncologist, and he went over the MRI with us and read us the notes from the Radiologist, which read that he thought it was Synovial Sarcoma as well. The oncologist thought it was a ganglion cyst as well so he asked Wyatt if he could try to aspirate it and if nothing came out then he would take a biopsy. No fluid came out while he was trying to aspirate it so he took a biopsy and it was more waiting for us. We were told we would hear back from the biopsy within 2-3 business days. 


Tuesday July 31 around 6pm Wyatt received a phone call from Dr. Hiatt with his MRI results. The pathology came back and it is ChondroSarcoma. 

Definition of Chondrosarcoma: Chondrosarcoma is a type of cancer that develops in cartilage cells. Cartilage is the specialized, gristly connective tissue that is present in adults and the tissue from which most bones develop. Cartilage plays an important role in the growth process. There are many different types of cartilage that are present throughout the body. Chondrosarcoma is a malignant type of bone cancer that primarily affects the cartilage cells of the femur (thighbone), arm, pelvis, knee, and spine. Although less frequent, other areas (such as the ribs) may be affected.


After weeks of thinking Wyatt has synovial sarcoma getting the news that it was Chondrosarcoma was considered pretty good news to us. It was still malignant cancer but was better than having Synovial Sarcoma. 


Next step for Wyatt is his CT scan on Tuesday August 7th to make sure the cancer hasn't moved anywhere else in his body. His orthopdic oncologist is out of town for a few weeks, so as soon as he gets back he will be in there talking about the next steps, surgery. 


We are taking one day at a time and have been overwhelmed by the love and prayers we have felt from our family, friends and ward members. This has been a vey hard time for our family but also a very spiritual time as well. I don't feel like we have ever had to rely on the Lord as much as we have these last few weeks. Through our fasting and prayers we feel at peace with everything. It still may be a long road ahead but we know that the Lord will not give us anything we can't handle. I'll try to update you as we know more...