Bursting with love ...

I met Ethan and his parents in March of 2005, shortly after he came to Children’s Hospital Boston for a stem cell transplant for acute lymphoblastic leukemia.  This disease, which is particularly dangerous in infants less than one year of age, requires intensive treatment in order to gain a chance of a cure.  Ethan delighted the entire stem cell transplant unit with his amazing drumming skills and remarkable laugh.  His parents amazed us with their strength, faith, patience and commitment to their son.  As hard as his transplant was on his little body, Ethan ultimately prevailed.  As his new stem cells grew, Ethan became stronger and stronger until he was finally able to go back home.  After a year of strict isolation to help prevent infection, Ethan was recently freed and sent back into the world, just in time for his second birthday!  In Ethan’s case, a picture is worth a thousand words.  His father has done a remarkable job documenting his life, his illness, his treatment, and his recovery on their family website.

One of the most remarkable things about Ethan, apart from his amazing recovery, his phenomenal parents, and his unstoppable spirit, turns out to be a mystery that I’ve only recently solved.  Ever since I first met Ethan I have noticed a small lump on his shoulder.  We’ve x-rayed it, scanned it, squeezed, poked and prodded it dozens of times, but were never able to figure out what was in this small lump.  The lump was there before Ethan’s transplant, and has been there since.  Recently, however, I believe that I have now solved the mystery of the lump.

I’ve come to realize that Ethan is so full of love, and so full of life, that there isn’t enough room in a normal child’s body for all of it, and so he’s had to make a little more space to store the extra.