Austin Horak - Neuroblastoma
When an envelope came in the mail asking Sherry and John Horak to provide samples of urine from their six-month-old son, the couple figured it couldn’t hurt to participate in the M. D. Anderson study on improving childhood cancer screening. Their baby seemed healthy, the cause worthy. They were totally unprepared for the uncertainty that ensued.
“Austin’s cancer was always borderline,” explains Sherry, who for nearly a year took Austin for tests that were suspicious but inconclusive. Three days before his second birthday, a CT scan finally confirmed neuroblastoma, a rare tumor of the nervous system. Surgeons eventually deflated Austin’s lungs to scrape the tumor from his spine. “We were scared,” recalls Sherry. “We were also relieved to know exactly what was going on. We could take steps to get him well and get him over it.”
Sherry and John gathered strength and peace from their church members, friends and family, who pitched in with fundraisers and care packages. “A few months into it, I just felt stronger,” Sherry says. “I thought, we could do this together.”
Six years after his therapy, Austin is a happy, assertive 8-year-old who isn’t afraid to tell people exactly what he wants. Despite the initial turmoil, Sherry and John don’t begrudge joining the study, not only because it caught Austin’s cancer, but also because they learned so much from it. Now, instead of being so busy, the Horaks take more time for family.
“We learned that bad situations are not the end of the world,” Sherry says. “Now we live day by day and appreciate what we have right now.”
Related Links:
- Children's Cancer Hospital
- Kids & Cancer