OUR STORY
The Diagnosis
We led a typical family life, full of giggles and adventure, until our son got sick and couldn’t shake it. Even after a couple doctor visits, he battled three straight weeks of high fever and leg pain. We bolted to the ER the night his fever spiked to 107F and he muttered the words, “Momma help me”. Those words still haunt us. At only 3 years old, doctors diagnosed our son with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Our lives turned upside down and changed forever when we were told our son has cancer.
The Journey
Having a child with cancer carries many hardships, seemingly impossible to describe to other parents who haven’t experienced it. The journey is like Disney World’s Space Mountain roller coaster. You are instantly thrust into a dark unknown. Everything zooms by so quickly that you can’t even absorb what is happening or comprehend where you are or how you got there. With many unforeseen twists and turns, you hold tight and wait for the hopeful light to the signal you have made it to the end of the ride.
The chemotherapy caused belly aches, headaches, general body pain, steroid rage, intense food cravings, extreme weight gain, weight loss, 4 hospitalizations, and numerous ER runs. We managed to turn the hair loss into a positive by making it a family event, as pictured above. The boys went bald, the baby stayed bald, and the girls donated their hair. Additionally, we navigated a US wide chemotherapy shortage, a measles exposure at a clinic lab, so much cleaning and sanitizing, skipped outings due to his severely immunocompromised state, and the COVID pandemic. After almost 3.5 years of treatment, we whole-heartedly thank God that we can say our son “Hulk Smashed Cancer”!
The Growth
Strangely, we feel blessed that we became part of the childhood cancer family. While nobody would ever choose to be a part of this family, it has created some great memories. We met some amazingly generous people, grew wiser, became humbler, learned to cherish each moment and enjoy the simplest pleasures. We strengthened our family bonds and above all, grew closer to the Lord as we witnessed His grace in helping us navigate some difficult situations. Moreover, our family knew early on God was using our circumstance for good and we had to pay it forward to help others in the same situation.
Why Kiger Cares?
Our wish is to provide support to these families by finding ways to ease their daily living. When your child is diagnosed with cancer, it becomes your life. Days are consumed with juggling appointments, lab draws, treatment, convincing your child to swallow numerous pills, and being prepared to run to the ER at any moment, etc. All the while, you try to balance attention, anxieties, and a whirlwind of emotions for all family members. Therefore, our goal is to relieve a bit of stress by helping with some of the daily tasks that become difficult to manage and providing outreach to create special family moments and connections with other childhood cancer families.
THANK YOU for helping make Kiger Cares a reality! Our ability to continuously provide indispensable services to every family battling childhood cancer can only be accomplished with sufficient funding. Please consider supporting the local childhood cancer families through their tremendous hardship.
Officers
- President – Bre Christian, MSc
- Vice-President – Jonny Christian, MBA, CSCP, P.Log.
- Secretary – Sheri Fletcher, MSc
- Treasurer – Kelly Fletcher, MSc, MSS
Board of Directors
- Elizabeth Knox, JD
- Sheila Pinkston, MD
- Jen Hightower