When Foltzy was 4 months old he was diagnosed with infantile acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). We spend 8 months living in the hospital while he fought hard to beat cancer all while trying to be a normal baby. After enduring 2 years of chemotherapy he finally made it to the end of treatment. He was able to enjoy 11 months of therapy before he relapsed at the age of 3. When he relapsed he relapsed hard. During a routine bone marrow aspiration his heart stopped. We were lucky to already be in the intensive care unit. After what seemed like hours of CPR we decided to put him on full life support (ECHMO) to let his heart and lung rest. His oncologist was convinced his heart was infiltrated with leukemia. After 6 long days of chemotherapy and lots of steroids his heart was well enough to come off of ECHMO and to beat on its own. After many more ups and downs in the PICU he was finally ready to go back to the oncology unit (4 East) and eventually home to his brother.

Foltzy had 2 more relapses while under treatment. Eventually he was well enough to get CAR-T and a bone marrow transplant. Foltzy is now a 5 year old living his best life in kindergarten. He is a kind and joyful kid. Foltzy would literally not be here today without the nurses, NPs, and doctors in the oncology, intensive care, and bone marrow transplant units. We are eternally grateful for them and for all the hard work they put into Foltzy’s care plan. All the money we raise will go towards cancer research at Children’s National. These kids deserve more. Thank you!