Student learns hope from nephew
Diana Cotter
The Signal
It was one of those perfect Sundays. An August afternoon spent with family while we watched my 13-year-old nephew Erick Cotter play soccer. The crowd was cheering, and Erick was running as fast as he could to get to the other side of the field. He was determined to help his team win this game.
About halfway through the game Erick collapsed on the ground, his vision blurred. His mother took him home thinking that all he needed was a good nap, but what happened to Erick was more serious than just simple fatigue.
The next morning, Erick noticed some strange bruises that felt and looked like bumps; he also noticed little brown spots on his arms and legs. Erick ended up being rushed to the Texas Children’s Hospital emergency room for tests.
The results revealed his blood was thickening from the over-production of white blood cells. And just like that, my nephew was diagnosed with leukemia.
“LEUKEMIA, the possibility just seemed impossible,” said Gladys Cotter, Erick’s mother. “It all seemed like a nightmare to me, but this was all real.”
Erick was transferred to the cancer floor where a bone marrow biopsy was performed to find out if the cancer had spread to the brain, spinal cord and other parts of his body. Good news – the cancer hadn’t spread.
Bad news – Erick’s cancer was identified as acute lymphoid leukemia, a life-threatening form of cancer that occurs in the bone marrow and blood. It is a disease in which there is an uncontrolled growth of abnormal white blood cells.
“I know what leukemia is,” Erick said. “I have blood cancer, and I have to get chemo done.”
He started his chemo treatment right away. The nurse placed a temporary IV in his arm to provide fluids such as: plasma, blood, platelets, antibiotics and chemotherapy. Erick was released from the hospital two weeks after his diagnosis.
Because of Erick’s critical condition, my sister, a single mother, made the difficult decision to move in with us so she and Erick could have help from family. Things haven’t been easy for them, especially for Erick. He left his friends, his school, his home and many aspects of his life behind.
“The hospital has become like a second home for us,” Gladys said.
He can no longer attend regular school classes. Instead, he is homebound.
“In spite of all the time he has missed, he has caught up with the rest of his classmates in a very short period of time,” said Michelle Conner, Clear Creek ISD homebound teacher. “He surprises me each visit by understanding difficult concepts and lessons so quickly. He has a lovingly sarcastic sense of humor and a laugh that brings a smile to the room.”
Football games, soccer practices and orchestra performances have been replaced with weekly chemotherapies, administered via a port that was surgically implanted into his chest.
In addition, at least once a week a spinal tap is performed, which consists of inserting a hollow needle into the spinal cord to extract bone marrow and blood.
He also receives three peg shots in his leg, which is another form of chemotherapy. Both procedures are tremendously painful.
The effects of the treatment, along with the excruciating pain, cause him to walk with difficulty and lose his appetite for days.
“Just the thought of food makes me nauseated,” Erick said. “This treatment is so strong that it makes me feel more miserable, weak and ill.”
For Halloween there was no trick or treating for Erick; he was in the hospital getting two units of blood and two platelet transfusions. While other kids were eating Halloween treats, he was forcing down six to 10 different giant pills.
“When I look at myself in the mirror, I don’t see that healthy kid anymore,” Erick said. “I see a weak kid who is losing his hair and whose body is changing but not like a normal teenage boy’s body would; mine is changing in reverse.”
His muscles are slowly getting smaller as he continues to lose weight. As a kid who struggles daily between life and death, his body is in a constant battle.
Many tasks that were easy for him to handle in the past, such as carrying grocery bags or making his bed, are now challenges because he is so weak. Removing a cap from a bottle of juice and getting a new video game out of the box are things that, without help, he can no longer accomplish.
This disease has stolen his childhood. My nephew is an amazing kid who will not stop fighting. He has dreams of becoming a lawyer and as courageous as he is, I know that one day his dream will come true. We have lost this battle before, with my dad’s aggressive form of cancer.
This time we won’t lose the battle; we still have three years of treatment ahead of us. His will and determination will help our entire family persevere. We won’t give up because we know that he will never give up.
“I want to play soccer again and go back to school,” Erick said. “I want to be healthy and I want to be who I was. And I know that one day I will.”