“It is not only a disease that affects the body, it affects all aspects of your life, your relationships and your family,” said Jackie Rosenhek, her mother.
This text is a translation of an article by CTV News.
Ms. Rosenhek says they started to notice abnormal signs when Morgan was 2 years old. He was lethargic and sticky, he didn’t want to eat, but his stomach was growing quickly. They took him to the emergency room of the Montreal Children’s Hospital and, a few hours later, he underwent emergency radiotherapy.
“It was really shocking, because we knew that something was wrong, but we would never have thought it was a deadly illness.”
– Jackie Rosenhek, mother of Morgan Shannon
Morgan was diagnosed with a high -risk stage 4 neuroblastoma, an aggressive cancer that had spread in his abdomen, his bones and the base of his skull.
Dr. Jitka Stankova, a pediatric oncologist, explained that to reduce his aggressive tumors, he had received emergency radiotherapy, which is rarely practiced on such a young patient.
“We do not like to use radiotherapy in children too much … because they are growing and the long-term effects are more important,” she said.
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The treatment of Morgan, which lasted two years, also included chemotherapy, surgery, stem cell transplants and immunotherapy, which required numerous stays in the children’s hospital.
Morgan was too young to remember this period, but Jackie Rosenhek and her husband, Grant Shannon, had to face the trauma to see their child undergoing cancer treatment.
“In private, we have shouted a lot to the sky, but in public, we said:” Everything is fine “. I really had to block everything and pretend everything was normal. ”
-Jackie Rosenhek, mother of Morgan Shannon
Even if life was not normal, Morgan says that the programs offered by the Montreal Children’s Foundation made his stay easier, giving it a way to have fun, including a tricycle to go around the games room.
“I was driving very quickly and the nurses gave me fines,” he said. “I still have one, which I have still not paid since 2020.”
He kept a copy in an album filled with memories of that time, especially maps of the staff who took care of him.
Jackie Rosenhek explains that if her work is essential to cure cancer, donations paid to the Foundation offer physical, social and financial support that families need to get through this crisis.
“It is said that it takes a whole village to raise a child. It takes a whole village to take care of a patient in oncology, ”she said.
Morgan has now been in remission for five years. Although he suffers from a permanent hearing loss and must undergo control exams, his mother says that their priority was now turned to the future.
“He is in great shape, he grows and lives his life, so we follow the movement!”, She added.
Morgan also has some advice to give other children who may receive a cancer diagnosis.
“It’s difficult to live, but we can still try to have fun,” he said.