Family focuses on boy’s recovery

BY MARY KAY SWEIKAR

DANVILLE August 05, 2008 07:17 am

— Joshua Adam Blake Sr. and Melanie Arnette of Danville wouldn’t have made it through the past four months if it wasn’t for the support of family and friends.
Their 3-year-old son, Joshua Adam Blake Jr. (Josh), was diagnosed with Stage 3 Hodgkin’s Disease at the end of April, and has been in and out of hospitals ever since.
The couple has two other children, Chelsey, 7, who will be in second grade at Meade Park Elementary School, and Brycen Blake, who is 1 year old.
The Blakes have been together for 12 years. Melanie is 24 and Joshua is 26. “We’ve been through a lot of ups and downs as a couple,” Joshua said, “but we’ve never faced anything like this before.”
The couple plans to marry Sept. 20 in the gazebo at Kennekuk County Park. And their hope is that Josh will be well enough to be the ring bearer at their wedding.
“Josh has always been such an active, healthy child,” Melanie said. “When we discovered the lumps on his neck, we didn’t think anything about them because he didn’t seem sick.” The mother of Joshua, Michelle Blake, did notice that her grandson had developed a raspy-sounding voice.
When his parents first took Josh to the doctor, his problem was diagnosed as an infection. But before long, the doctors knew the 3-year-old boy had a serious health problem.
Because Josh was too wiggly to lie still for an MRI and PET scan, his parents took him to Riley Children’s Hospital, where they could sedate him before taking the scans. The tests showed the child had an advanced stage of Hodgkin’s disease, and a biopsy of one of the lumps on his neck confirmed the diagnosis.
Hodgkin’s disease — also known as Hodgkin’s lymphoma — is a cancer of the lymphatic system, which is part of the body’s immune system. It causes lymph cells to grow abnormally, and they may spread beyond the lymphatic system. As Hodgkin’s disease progresses, it compromises the body’s ability to fight infection. But advances that have been made in diagnosis and treatment have helped to make this once-fatal disease highly treatable, with the potential for full recovery.
“We got the bad news just two days before Father’s Day that Josh had cancer,” his father said. “We just couldn’t believe it. Our other two children are so healthy,” he added, “and we’ve never had any health problems like this in our family before.”
The boy’s doctor in Indianapolis felt there was no time to waste, and Josh began his cancer treatments immediately.
“We’ve just about lived over at Riley during the past three months,” Joshua said. “My son had four cycles of chemotherapy. During those treatments he stayed in the hospital for several days at a time, at a cost of $1,000 a day just for the room.
“Josh didn’t mind the treatments,” his father said. “He would play with the other kids there at the same time that he was receiving chemotherapy intravenously.” But after his treatment was completed, Josh frequently became ill. He had to take special shots to boost his compromised immune system, and all his shiny, dark hair fell out after only a couple of chemotherapy treatments.
“We went over to Riley with only four dollars in our pocket,” grandmother Michelle said. “It was only through the generosity of others that we made it through this ordeal so far, and I can’t come up with enough good words to thank everyone who has helped us out.”
“We want to thank everybody who helped us, and we apologize if we omitted anybody,” Joshua said. They wish to thank several staff members at Meade Park Elementary School; also, Sandra Houston and Mayor Scott Eisenhauer; the American Cancer Society; Melanie’s parents, Lance and Pam Arnette; and Joshua’s mother, Michelle Blake.
Employees at Sears in Danville collected money to help buy the family clothes at that store. KIK Custom Products, where the Arnettes work and Systrand Presta, where Michelle works, also helped out, as well as the Danville Community Action Agency.
“The support these people gave us helped us pay for a lot of practical things,” Joshua said, “like gasoline for all our trips to Riley, a motel in Indianapolis, new tires for our 1995 vehicle, and meals and clothes for our family.”
The whole family also is looking forward to a trip to Disney World next summer — a gift to Josh from the Make A Wish Foundation.
Even though he looks and feels healthy now, Josh isn’t out of the woods yet. He is undergoing further medical tests to determine whether he also will need radiation treatment for Hodgkin’s disease.
“Even if he’s considered in remission, the doctors told us he will need checkups for his cancer until he’s 13 years old,” Joshua said.
“Riley Hospital performs miracles,” he said, “and I can’t thank them enough for taking such good care of Josh.
“We just want our son to be well,” he added, “and it’s time for him to enjoy just being a kid again.”
TO HELP
Joshua Blake Jr. and his family could use your help. Donations can be made at the First Midwest Bank of Danville to an account that has been set up in Josh’s name. A fund raising event to help pay his medical expenses will be scheduled at a later date. For further information, contact Michelle Blake at 442-2136.

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