Oct. 4 was a day like any other for one Morris family—until it wasn’t.
“I’m in a car pool,” says Terri Yager. “My 13-year-old son Damien had football practice and it was my turn to pickup the boys when I got the phone call.”
Dexter, her seven-year-old, had been complaining about pains in his legs and groin. Several visits to the doctor hadn’t provided answers, and the amount of over-the-counter medication needed to help Dexter deal with the pain was raising red flags with Yager, who worked as a health care aid at the Red River Valley Lodge.
“I had taken Dexter in for blood work the day before,” she says. “He said it was always hurting, but the amount of Advil and Tylenol was concerning.
“The doctor’s office called and said I needed to take Dexter to the Children’s Hospital in Winnipeg. I thought it was no big deal, I would arrange to get him there in the next few days. They told me, ‘Now!’ Abnormal cells had been found in the blood work.”
A week later, the Gr. 2 student was back home after finishing his first treatment for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
“He has B-cell All type,” shares dad Jessy Morgan.
“It’s the most common form in children,” adds Yager. “It accounts for 25 per cent of leukemia in children.”
The treatment? Aggressive chemotherapy on top of daily medications to control blood pressure, inflammation, acid reflux, vomiting and diarrhea, and urinary tract infections.
“Every Tuesday and Thursday we will need to take him into Winnipeg for chemo,” says Morgan, choking up at the prospect. This is to be the family’s new reality for the foreseeable future.
“They tell us that the treatment can change monthly,” says Yager. “Every three months, he will need a spinal tap and born marrow testing.”
“He is monitored after the hospital treatment. He may need to be admitted,” she adds, noting two to two-and-a-half years is the treatment plan. “Future treatment is determined by how it reacts. Bone marrow and spinal tap tests as we progress with treatment are how they determine higher or lower.”
“Gym,” was Dexter’s response when asked about his favourite subject in school. “I like tag and dodge ball.”
“He played Timbit soccer,” notes Morgan.
“He is going to his next boy scout meeting, but after that, it’s one meeting at a time depending on how he is feeling,” adds Yager.
He’s a little boy who would rather run than ride his bike (“My feet are faster,” he says). The cancer treatment—and the weakness, nausea and vomiting that come with it—is already taking a toll.
“In two to three weeks he will start to lose his hair,” says Yager as she looks off into the room where Dexter is playing video games.
Loved ones have rallied around Yager, Morgan, and the boys to help them get through the weeks and months ahead.
“Thanksgiving my friends brought over a Thanksgiving dinner and cleaned my house,” says Yager. “Family, friends and the community are wonderful. We would not have gotten this far without them.”
Yager has taken a leave from her position at the lodge and Morgan has put aside his part-time work at the gas station to focus on the family. It’s a financial strain, and one the community is stepping up to help alleviate.
A fundraising fall supper takes place at the Morris Multiplex on Sunday, Nov. 3 at 4 p.m. The evening will include a pie and desert auction and a silent auction.
Tickets—which are available at Morris Bigway, the multiplex, or the Sun Valley Co-op gas bar—are $20 for adults and $10 for kids age four to 12. Children three and under are free.
Cheryl Crick, one of the event’s organizers, says all the volunteers involved are eager to help the family through this challenging time.
“This was a family that was part of Red River Valley Parent Child Centre,” she notes. “They contributed over the years with many volunteer hours at the centre.
“When you have people who help without being asked, it’s nice to be able to help them in return.”
If you’d like to get involved or have a question about tickets, call or text 204-712-6162.
