On October 7, 2021, Silas saw his local doctors for what we thought was a viral infection. The doctors recommended rest and fluids and sent us home. By the morning of the eighth, Silas’s symptoms had progressed, and he could not use his arms or legs without pain and had a fever that would not go down even with medicine. We took him back to the doctor and requested bloodwork. Later that evening, we received a call from the doctor. He informed us that Silas’s blood work came back severely abnormal, and they immediately sent him to St. Louis Children’s Hospital to be evaluated by a specialist team. We quickly packed our bags and drove our two babies to St. Louis Children’s Hospital. After a long three-hour wait in the busy Emergency Room, Silas was admitted as a patient.
Silas underwent evaluations by the infectious disease team, the hematology team, and the oncology team. Then he underwent dozens of tests, blood transfusions, and procedures to determine the cause of his illness. Unfortunately, nothing pointed to the cause of the symptoms and abnormal bloodwork. We agreed to have a bone marrow biopsy done, and on October 15, 2021, we received the worst news. Silas was diagnosed with pre-B cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Silas immediately started treatment and endured a grueling hospital stay for a month. After many treatments and procedures, Silas went into remission in February of 2022 and will continue therapy for leukemia until February 2024.
Silas has made leaps and bounds during treatment, showing the doctors and us that he is so strong and resilient, and unwilling to give up. During this time, Silas has undergone four phases of treatment, undergone several procedures, been hospitalized for illness, taken chemotherapies we can’t even pronounce, and had an amazing attitude through it all. Silas continues to thrive and heal and defeat cancer!
We look forward to seeing Silas grow and become an amazing adult with an amazing testimony about God’s grace and the healing power of Jesus in the future.
Written by Brian and Alexandra L Martinez, the parents of Silas