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I Relay For My Son

I Relay For My Son
I Relay For My Son

Austin was a vibrant, energetic, compassionate little man. If he was still here he would want us to be doing something to stop this terrible, life altering disease in its tracks. So we will walk, run or stroll for him!

WHY I RELAY!

Austin Chad Hinson was born on February 16, 1996 after a long labour and C-section. He was the most beautiful little man I had ever seen. Our life was full of ups and downs, but we made the best out of it. Austin was your typical child. He was healthy and never did I think I had to worry about him. In December 2005, Austin got a stomach flu I took him to the Emergency and they tested his blood for food poisoning and everything came back normal. Then in January he became very sick. I took him in to emergency 6 times where he was diagnosed with everything from the flu to tonsillitis. Then one morning we got up; he was still sick and had been lying on the couch for days. That's when I noticed these bruises; not normal bruises, big black ones that looked a little scary. So I called our health link here and I told her all of his symptoms and she told me to start my vehicle and get to the hospital and she would call ahead and let them know we where coming. I had no idea what was going on. I just did what I was told. When we got there we didn't really know what to expect. At the hospital, they ran a bunch of tests and we waited. At this point, it was getting later in the day, so my husband took our little guy (Rhys) to get something to eat down the street and that's when the doc came in and said: “when will your husband be back?” I asked why and he said he needed to talk to us. I said I wanted to know now what is going on. That's when he pulled me into a private room and let me know my son was showing signs of Leukemia. I said he was wrong and cried and cried. I called my husband and told him to take Rhys to my mom and get up here as fast as he could. I didn't want to tell him over the phone, but he called back and begged me to tell him. So I did. He got there as fast as he could and together we told Austin what was going on. He told us that he was going to beat this and together as a family we tried. We were flown out that night to Edmonton Stollery Children's Hospital; we spent that night on the oncology floor. Through the night Austin got worse and we were transferred to PICU. He was very sick and tired. On January 21, we got the news it was T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (High Risk). We had a fight on our hands, but were prepared to do whatever it took to get through. He did very well and we found out he was in remission on his 10th birthday February 16, 2006. He had his fair share of complications from the chemo everything from rashes to pancreatitis, but he was doing well. After being in Edmonton for the first 6 months, we were finally able to go home for more then 2 days. We got one good break and were home for 2 ? weeks and then back for scheduled chemo and then we were to go back home for another 2 ? weeks, but that's when Austin started to get sick. So I took him into our Local Hospital for routine blood work and he needed to be transfused (Routine). We were told to come back and talk about the results of the test. That's when we found out Austin had relapsed. We were on our way back to Edmonton to start over again....So we thought. They tried several different chemos and nothing could get Austin back in remission. We got the news no parent in our position wants to hear. THERE IS NOTHING MORE WE CAN DO! Austin took the news very hard and refused to believe he would die. Jay and I tried our best to put on a brave face for him. He was only with us 2 more weeks. He went to sleep and never woke up. He passed away peacefully on November 5, 2006. He was so kind and helpful. He hated to hear the other kids sick and would cry when he heard them crying and would say I know what they are going through. I miss him more and more everyday. I can count on one hand the nights we spent apart through the whole 9 months in the hospital. He is my first true love and best friend. We talked about everything openly and honestly.
We Love you Austin!

 

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