SURVIVOR - DEQLAN ROSS HIGGINS

Deqlan today, Praise Our Healing Lord

Deqlan 29 June 2007- after 2 round of chemo, his eye started to improve

It is my honor to honor our beautiful boy Deqlan Ross Higgins

Deqlan was born a beautiful healthy baby boy and developed right on track with no illness - at age 7 months we noticed a yellow bruise on Deqlans eye lid and i remember thinking of a million reasons for the cause of the bruise - from hitting him self with his dummy , to bumping his head against the camping cot, to a new food causing an allergy

We decided to look into the mysterious bruise, which now looked orange after two weeks, and we were told by our then doctor that it was conjunctivitis - we knew that wasnt the right diagnosis. Another week went by and the bruise started to look a little purple - so we went to the eye hospital - the doctor there had not seen a bruise like it before, but told us it was probably a blocked tear duct and to give it a month to see if it improves - the next week Friday, 25 May 07 , we decided to take matters in our own hands and demand a scan of Deqlans eye - thats the day our lives changed forever

The Mri scan was massive and loud, ear piercing frequencies bouncing through Deqlans body- i was very very worried but had no idea what was coming next, thank The Lord My Mom was standing with me whilst the second part of the scan was run.

I was totally and utterly blown away when the doctor came into the scan room telling us they found a big tumor near Deqlans adrenal glad, which had spread to several parts of his body, including behind his eye. His guess was neuroblastoma - i just remember feeling like i wasnt in my body and sitting down on the chair. Both mom and i were in tears and rushed out to the reception area of the hospital not knowing what to do next - i managed to pull myself together to phone mark and told him to get to the hospital asap - he was angry with me for not being able to tell him over the phone what was going on. My mom and i managed to piece the details together for Mark when he arrived. I will never, ever forget the look on Marks face,ever. I will also never forget my mom telling me should would be with us every single step of this journey , no matter what

Dee and Meggie joined us at the hospital and by the grace of God we were lead to the best oncologist ,Dr De Jager 2 hours later.....

We sat in his office for nearly 3 hours as he tried to explain what neuroblastoma was, where he thought Deqlan was stage wise and what the treatment plan was - Mom did most of the talking and asking questions as she was the only one with a medical background.... what an amazing doctor, what a kind heart, what a love for the kids he works with, Deqlan and us as his family trusted him straight away

After many scans and tests and tests and biopsies, Deqlan was diagnosed to have stage 4 neuroblastoma, with bone and bone marrow involvement, non amplified.

It the next few months a whirlwind of treatments and surgeries unfolded - including two uncessary surgeries for mistakes a surgeon made resulting in blockages and herneas

Deqlan went through 11 rounds of chemo, countless scans and blood tests - but most important of all many many prayers and may prayer warriors who joined Deqlans prayer army and stood firm in faith with us, following every step of the way

Deqlans MIBG scan on the 7th of November revealed nothing!! absolutely nothing lit up!

We found an amazing surgeon Professor Beale who removed the remainder of the tumor which started close to his left kidney and was wrapped around some very important arteries and vessels - Deqlan recovered very well and the results of the biospy performed on the remainder of the tumor showed that all was ganglioneuroma , all dead tissue!

A bone marrow biopsy was performed in Jan 2008 and on 16 Jan 08 we got the call to say it was clear - this was the day that marked Deqlan having NO EVIDENCE OF DISEASE!!! What a celebration it was and continues to be!! Deqlan has been NED for nearly 20 months.

We continue to go for check ups every 3 months where an ultrasound is done on Deqlans abdomen, as well as blood and urine tests. They all continue to show normal levels , praise Our Lord! Our next check up will be the beginning of Dec and then we will move to 6 monthly check ups!

In October 2008 Deqlan was diagnosed to be on the Autism Spectrum and we are working very hard on pulling Deqlan through the window, which we are so positive about! We see improvements in him EVERY DAY! He has started talking and playing and interacting!!!

We thank you for following Deqlans journey, for praying for him and all the support you continue to shower upon him - please let your prayers never end!