Cancer shatters a family’s world. Life as they know it will never be the same … ever again.
When it’s a child whose afflicted with this terrible disease, it’s even more crushing. Kids’ playdates, ball games and sleepovers are replaced with extended hospital stays, missed schooldays and heartbreak.
Their carefree childhood is gone. Now they contend with chemotherapy, surgery, PET scans and being sequestered from people out of fear of getting sick.
Uncontrollable worry strikes parents as they approach a doctor’s appointment or wait for test results, dreading terrible news and bracing themselves for the worst.
When two-year-old Beckett Burge of Texas was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in April 2018 it wasn’t just the toddler that was affected, his mom Kaitlin Burge, told TODAY Parents.
“One thing they don’t tell you about childhood cancer is that it affects the entire family. You always hear about the financial and medical struggles, but how often do you hear about the struggles families with other children face?”
Beckett’s big sister Aubrey, who was three at the time, was forced to give up gymnastics. But the siblings, just 15 months apart, have always had an inseparable bond, one that cancer couldn’t tear apart. Aubrey willing gave up her favorite activity for her brother.
“We had to put a lot of things on hold because we didn’t know what life was going to look like. Aubrey never once complained.”
Even as young as she was, Aubrey just knew that her baby brother was incredibly sick and needed their Mom and Dad to be with him at the hospital. While it was disappointing, Aubrey somehow grasped that Beckett just couldn’t run around the backyard and play much with her anymore even if she didn’t fully understand why.
“A little over a month after he was released from the hospital, she watched him struggle to walk and struggle to play. The lively, energetic and outgoing little brother she once knew was now a quiet, sick, and very sleepy little boy. “
So instead of throwing a fit or putting up resistance, at the tender age of three Aubrey adapted incredibly well. She crawled in bed with Beckett and they read books together. She taught him how to hold a pencil and gave him imaginary homework when he starting missing preschool. She barely left his side when he was home.
Aubrey’s dedication to her little brother during such a difficult time was captured by her 28-year-old mom in a poignant Facebook post that has since gone viral.
“My two kids, 15 months apart, went from playing in school and at home together to sitting in a cold hospital room together. My then 4-year-old watched her brother go from an ambulance to the ICU. She watched a dozen doctors throw a mask over his face, poke and prod him with needles, pump a dozen medications through his body, all while he laid there helplessly. She wasn’t sure what was happening. All she knew was that something was wrong with her brother, her best friend.”
Kaitlin added that she and her husband chose to take Aubrey with them to the hospital knowing that Beckett would be worse off if he couldn’t see his best friend during such a frightening time. It also helped comfort Aubrey to see her brother.
“Children need support and togetherness, and should not be kept at a distance from the person who is ill. Vomiting between play sessions. Waking up to throw up. Standing by her brothers side and rubbing his back while he gets sick. Going from 30 lbs to 20 lbs. This is childhood cancer. Take it or leave it.”
Even though the siblings have separate bedrooms, when Beckett is home, they prefer to camp out together. She helps him struggle into his PJs and even tucks him into bed. She serves him snacks when he’s finally feeling hungry.
“If Aubrey wakes up and Beckett isn’t there, she starts crying. She needs to know where he is at all times. He prefers her to us when he throws up. Aubrey has always been mature and nurturing. When Beckett throws up, she’s right there with him or running to get him water. Last night, she asked if she could help me sort his medication.”
Two years after Beckett’s initial diagnosis, Aubrey headed to kindergarten while Beckett stayed home to get stronger. He will finish his chemotherapy treatments in August 2021. The family hopes he will be able to attend school next year, but Beckett cannot afford to get sick right now and suffer a secondary infection.
Still, Aubrey makes sure Beckett isn’t missing out on a thing.
“At the moment, it’s all about protecting him and keeping him in a bubble. Aubrey is teaching Beckett to hold a pencil and gives him pretend homework. He never learned those things because he’s been sick.”
Beckett’s prognosis is good, Kaitlin says, and the Facebook post she shared has brought together complete strangers as they share their own stories and photos of how siblings facing cancer combat this disease together. Some of their posts will make you smile, others will bring tears to your eyes.
But one thing remains the same, these siblings stuck together as loved ones fought hard for their lives. It’s a battle no one ever wants to face, but through it all, they have each other.
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