On November 5th, 2022, a baby boy was born to a local young couple. Micah, their 2nd child, was expected to arrive around Thanksgiving Day but decided he wasn't waiting any longer.
Like any parent, Micah's parents were grateful to be blessed with a healthy, happy son who thrived and was growing just as a newborn should. They watched his unique personality emerge. They eagerly anticipated milestones that mark the development of every child; recognizing mom's face; the babbling which leads to his 1st words; rolling over, crawling, standing and those monumental 1st steps.
Sure, there were the sleepless nights which temporarily interrupt life as a parent of young child. Right around Micah's 1st birthday on November 5th, 2023, Micah and his sister dealt with a round of colds, ear infections and a bout of pink eye.
Not long after his birthday, Micah's mom noticed that Micah's left eye was looking swollen and appeared to be a little "lazy". Over the following couple of weeks, Micah had two appointments with their pediatrician. The symptoms with his eye were not getting better so the pediatrician recommended they have a CT scan done to see if they could diagnose what was possibly at the root of his eye problems.
On Thursday, December 7th, Micah had a CT scan done at Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh. The results turned the family's world and Micah's bright future upside down. The scan revealed a tumor right below/behind his eye. Hoping for the best outcome, they immediately conducted a biopsy procedure and were then left to endure an agonizing week waiting for the results. Micah's parents hung onto their faith praying for a miracle. Family, friends, members of their church and many others on social media joined them in seeking the Lord's grace and healing for Micah.
The results were not easy to hear. Their one-year-old son, Micah, was officially diagnosed with Alveolar Soft-Part Sarcoma (ASPS). This is an extremely rare type of cancer that unfortunately does not respond to chemo or radiation. And, if left unchecked, this type of cancer is known to spread quickly and is often fatal, especially for children.
Micah's doctors consulted with numerous experts to find the best treatment options with the greatest chances of success. Sadly, Micah's parents were only given one treatment option, and they were told that option needed to be done as soon as possible. Their son would have to undergo major surgery.
The tumor had to be removed in its entirety, including any surrounding tissue which was proximal to it. In little Micah's case, the surgery would require removing his eye and everything within his eye socket. The surgery (exenteration) was quickly scheduled for Friday, December the 22nd, 2023. A whole team of doctors from several specialties would be brought together to perform a lengthy surgery.
Once the surgery was scheduled, Micah's parents shared how scary it was because everything was unknown and they had never gone through anything even remotely related to Micah's condition.
On Christmas eve, Micah's parents shared this update: “Happy to announce that Micah is home from the hospital! We have multiple follow-up appointments in the coming weeks but grateful to be home for Christmas. Best Christmas present that I could ask for... he acts like we haven't been in the hospital for 2 weeks and that he didn't get surgery two days ago. Crawling and walking like it's nothing.”
In April of 2024, Micah had his 1st post surgery MRI. The MRI proved the surgery was a success. The tumor was gone! Praise God! Micah would need to be scanned quarterly for the foreseeable future since ASPS is so rare, and it is known to present itself in other places at random intervals.
The next scan was done in July 2024. This time, the results were not so positive. The scan revealed two lesions near where the original tumor was removed. A biopsy was performed to determine if those lesions were cancerous. Everyone was praying and agreeing the lesions would be benign.
On Tuesday, August 6th 2024, Micah had his biopsy/resection surgery. Surgeons removed one lesion and pathology confirmed it WAS cancer (ASPS). We were heartbroken.
The location of the new tumor meant Micah would have to undergo a much greater invasive surgery to completely remove the cancer. Since ASPS does not respond to chemotherapy, radiation or other cancer killing drugs, Micah would have to start a different treatment regimen.
The only known treatment that has been proven to have some positive results on eradicating this type of cancer is immunotherapy. In other words, Micah would be given immunotherapy treatments in the hopes his small, young body would kill the cancer and fight off any spreading.
We thanked everyone for their prayers and support and asked them to continue to intercede for Micah. We hung onto this verse and believed for a miracle. "With God all things are possible" Matthew 19:26
On August 23, 2024, Micah went to Children's Hospital to have a mediport placed in his chest and to receive his 1st immunotherapy treatment. His treatments are given every three weeks which requires us to be at Children's Hospital each time. At this time Micah was also put on a highly specialized, organic diet to help his body fight the cancer and to rid his body of contaminates which can come from processed foods.
November 5, 2024 “Not gonna get sappy, but this handsome little man turned TWO today. He sure is one tough kid. With many tough situations this past year, he continues to have a smile on his face. We thank God everyday for our Micah man.”
February 2, 2025 **Update** Micah is getting scanned after being on immunotherapy for the past 6 months. As of this scan, the tumors appear to be the same as before. Although we are hoping that they go away fully, it is a blessing that they have not grown or spread. Thank you for your continued prayers for our little Micah man! We continue to pray for healing.
June 1, 2025 **Update** Micah’s scans this past month were not as clear as we were hoping. Micah will unfortunately be having surgery on Tuesday to remove a suspicious “nodule” from the base of his lung. Once they remove it, they’ll be able to tell if it is cancer and discuss further treatment options.
We pray for Micah’s continued strength. We pray that his surgeon will successfully be able to locate and remove the small area of concern. We pray that the current immunotherapy will continue to keep the cancer from growing/spreading. We pray for healing, and we pray for strength for the whole family. Amen.
Micah's surgery on June 3rd went well. The surgeon was able to locate and cleanly remove the “nodule” - Praise God! Now the hard part once again. We wait on the unknown to find out if it was cancer.
June 24, 2025 **Update** Sadly, the area of the lung that was removed WAS cancer. The good thing is that it is out and it appears all the affected surrounding area was successfully removed. The doctors told us to start adding herbal supplementation to Micah's highly specialized diet.
September 10 2025 **Update** This is THE update that we have all been praying for and waiting for - This past week, Micah had his usual 3 month scans. Not only were his lungs clear, but also one of his tumors in his head is completely gone! Praise GOD!
This is the first time that we have seen regression without surgery. We are hopeful that the medicine continues to help his body fight the rest of the cancer and keep it away.
November 5 2025 Such a bittersweet day...My BABY is THREE! Blessed to be this handsome little man’s mama. So proud of how kind, loving, and STRONG he is. Grateful for him everyday day HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICAH!
