Today is September 19th – the 19th day of Childhood Cancer Awareness month. Today I want to honor Clinton Milliken. Right before Clinton’s fifth birthday, after months of vomiting that doctors initially thought was caused by allergies, he was diagnosed with stage 4 Medulloblastoma, a type of brain tumor. Clinton called his tumor an “acorn” because that’s how big the doctor said it was. Clinton had surgery on November 24, 2009, and the surgeon was able to remove the entire tumor. Clinton’s parents, Kim and Jeremy, were relentless in researching to find the treatment best designed for his particular diagnosis. In December 2009, they made the decision to take Clinton to St. Jude. His treatment included 31 radiation treatments followed by four monthly chemo treatments. The treatments were rough on Clinton, but he was a champ through it all. His dimples and cute round face got him lots of attention. He did photo shoots with celebrities for St. Jude’s Thanks and Giving campaigns. He also helped with a campaign honoring the mothers of St. Jude children. Once he was St. Jude’s “Child of the Month.” However, one difficult aspect of being at St. Jude was that his dad, his older brother, Jordan, and his younger brother, Max, had to stay in Nashville. Clinton loved playing “UNO Attack” and “Hi Ho Cheerio” while he was at St. Jude. Since he couldn’t hold more than a few cards at a time, they had to develop their own version of UNO. One day he played UNO for 5 straight hours. Then played it again that afternoon. As the children played games to pass the time, the parents talked. Kim wrote about the bonds formed at St. Jude: “It’s funny how we have formed a little family here. We share each other’s grief and stress. We help with each other’s kids and we will be linked together for a very long time.” When Clinton finished the radiation and chemo, an MRI and spinal tap in July 2010 showed that there were no more tumors or cancer cells. Unfortunately, scans in October showed the cancer had returned. He was sent home on low-dose chemo to hopefully hold the cancer at bay while they researched options. During this time they went to Disney World for Clinton’s Make A Wish trip, and they had a lemonade strand where people bought lemonade with pull-tabs from cans. Collecting the pull-tabs was an ongoing project throughout Clinton’s illness. As a matter of fact, by November 2010, they had collected over 500 pounds of pull-tabs for St. Jude. They took Clinton to L.A. to see a doctor there who had a treatment plan that sounded promising. The L.A. doctor worked it out for Clinton to receive all his treatments at Vanderbilt so he wouldn’t have to be away from home again. Scans in mid-December showed the cancer still spreading, although slowly. Kim compiled all Clinton’s records and scans and sent them to doctors across the country looking for information on protocols and plans that might help Clinton. Although Kim didn’t tell Clinton what they were doing, she started working with him on a bucket list. They called it his “Fun List.” It included swimming with dolphins, a trip to the Atlanta Aquarium, feeding an elephant, giraffe and zebra, and a dance party for his birthday. With the support of friends and family, Clinton was able to do all those things . . . and more. The only exception was that the zebra was “shy” and so Clinton fed an anteater instead. They continued searching out treatments – looking into some alternative and all natural treatment options. They added lots of fresh juices to Clinton’s diet and reduced refined products like flour and sugar. March 2011 scans showed the tumor had actually reduced. During the summer of 2011, they took Clinton to Mexico for a new treatment that was available there. Kim wrote about how Clinton seemed to be doing much better. September 2011 scans showed the tumor was stable – no growth. December 2011 scans showed slight growth. Without warning, on January 14, 2012, Clinton had two brain bleeds that caused a stroke and some seizure activity. After a few days, the doctors said there was no way he could recover. As Kim held him in her arms, she told him: “Mommy loves you so much and I am so proud of you. If you want to stay and fight, mommy will fight with you forever, but if you are tired and are ready for your heart to fly to heaven, its okay. Dont worry about mommy, I will be fine. On January 19, 2012, Clinton gained his wings. Clinton, we miss your sweet smile, your funny sense of humor and your zest for life. You were an amazing little boy and your memory will live on in our hearts.
Posted on: Fri, 19 Sep 2014 11:50:21 +0000
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