5-Year-Old Battles Cancer Twice, Now Helps Others

UPDATE:

Life felt normal again for Krissy and Mark Gallagher.

Their baby Austin, diagnosed with cancer in both kidneys at just 10 months old, had survived a disease less than two-dozen kids get each year.

He was cancer-free. His dark brown hair was growing back. The big scar on his little belly no longer an angry red. Mark and Krissy didn’t have to cross paths anymore and trade off nights at Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital. Big brother Braedan had his whole family at home again.

“A glorious“ 13 months, Krissy calls that time. But then doctors found another tumor in the spring of 2009.

“Relapse is so much worse. It’s deadlier. It means this whole arsenal you’ve deployed against cancer didn’t work,” Krissy said. “Knowing in a way is so much scarier because you know what you’re getting into.”

Mark said he “tries to forget” many of those moments, but he does remember when he realized there was a chance he would lose his son.

“There was certainly the potential that he would not, as we say it, make it to kindergarten,” Mark said.

Austin, now 5, jumped in and out of his mother’s lap while she spoke about the many months of chemotherapy, the surgeries that reached double-digits, the tubes all over his body, the fear their son would die. Austin leaned back in Krissy’s arms, his now shaggy hair standing on its end, his shirt raising up to expose the only physical evidence that this very lively boy was ever sick.  

“You couldn’t imagine a more depressing place than a childhood cancer ward. But there’s a lot of living going on,” Krissy said. “He was very much himself there … he was racing around the hospital and flirting with all the nurses.”

Austin started counting and reciting the names of 10 or so nurses. Then he talked about the doctors and the technicians.

“I slept in my bed in the hospital, and I’d move a lot of the buttons,” Austin said, smiling, as if he was talking about a playground. “I had a tube up my nose. I got to drink Kool-Aid afterward.”

They talked about the friends Austin made and the other parents there.

“You met people through that experience. Some families, their kids didn’t make it,” Krissy said. “We all know kids get cancer, but you never imagine that it’s going to be you. That that’s going to be the life you live. For the parents of kids who don’t survive, there are no words for it.”

Signs something wasn't right

The Gallaghers, who live in Cleveland Heights, were on vacation in Chautauqua, NY, when Krissy’s dad asked her a question.

“Does his belly always look like that?” he pointed at Austin’s tummy. She hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary. Krissy doesn’t take her kids to the doctor for the sniffles. Austin had an appointment anyway with a specialist a few days after returning from the trip.

The doctor noticed something was wrong with his stomach right away, and ordered an ultrasound. After the procedure, the technician looked at Krissy. Do you have another son at home? Krissy nodded. The woman gave Krissy two stuffed animals and said “God bless you.” Krissy wasn't sure why

Then they spoke to the doctor.

“I can’t remember what he said. It was very surreal. I didn’t ask any questions. I didn’t ask if he had cancer. I couldn’t say any of those words.”

They found out later that Austin had cancer in both of his kidneys, a cancer called Bilateral Wilms’ tumor. It’s easier to treat when it’s in one kidney.

“We’ve literally walked a tightrope for years and years trying to find this balance between preserving the kidney and killing the cancer,” Krissy said.

"The Luckiest"

After his second bout with cancer, Austin’s remaining kidney was failing. Doctors and the Gallaghers had to decide whether to remove that second organ, which would put Austin on dialysis for at least two years. He had to meet the 24-month cancer-free requirement to get an organ transplant.

They decided to give his body a break. He fought and beat cancer once as a baby and then as a toddler. And suddenly, his kidney started to improve on its own.

Krissy calls her blog about the experience and her life “The Luckiest.”

“We have escaped the worst many times,” she explains.

The Gallaghers expect Austin's kidney to last at least until puberty, and they hope much longer.

“The worry is always there. But we don’t let it take over.” Krissy said. “He’s a happy and normal child today … we appreciate that so hugely.”

Sunday, Austin will once again have his head shaved. But this time, it’s for a good cause.

The family has participated in the St. Baldrick’s Foundation shave-off for four years, and this year they've organized one for kids at the Cleveland Heights Community Center. People create teams, and participants shave their heads to raise money for childhood cancer research.

Mark said it creates more awareness then running a 5K, for example. As a lawyer, people always ask him why he’s suddenly bald, if he’s sick.

“The first year I did it just in solidarity with Austin, to let him know you don’t have to be sick to be bald,” Mark said. He'll shave his head again on St. Patrick's Day at the St. Baldrick's event downtown, which is primarily for adults.

Braedan, 8, who goes to , will shave his head for the third time this Sunday on “Team Fairfax.” There are 19 students from Cleveland Heights-University Heights participating. Austin, who is one of five St. Baldrick’s ambassador kids nationwide, will shave his head for the second time, and is on “Team Austin,” which includes students from his preschool at St. Paul's.

Participants will have their heads shaved by professional barbers at the from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. The event is primarily for kids and families, but anyone can sign up and donate up until the day of the event. The Barbershoppers will stop by to perform at 3 p.m., an Irish dance troupe will be there at 2 p.m. and "Balloon Bender Dave" will be there from 1:15 p.m. to 2 p.m.

“It is such a special feeling to be there and to see people who are so willing to give of themselves — their time, their money, their hair for people they don’t even know,” Krissy said. “It’s very dark when you have a kid with cancer, the physical and emotional pain. Taking that back for a day for an event like this is so fun and so special. It gives light to an otherwise dark situation.”

To donate to or participate in this Sunday's event, click here. To paticipate in or donate to the St. Baldrick's event downtown at A.J. Rocco's on St. Patrick's Day, organized by Cleveland Heights couple Pete and Cathy Richer, click here.