Patient Stories:
Cristian Grabowski's Story
Cristian Grabowkski
Cristian Grabowksi was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia at age 3. His family member, Tamara Grabowski, shares their journey and her concern for a lack of treatments specialized for young children.
Click to Listen to Our Podcast Episode with Cristian Grabowski
Diagnosis
Diagnosis: Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
Around Cristian's 3rd birthday he was running a fever and feeling sluggish as if he may have the flu. A couple days later, he was in pain and unable to walk or get out of bed. He was taken to urgent care where they ran some blood tests and with his test results he was referred to Children's Hospital due to suspicion of Leukemia.
After meeting with the oncologist, it was confirmed Cristian had Leukemia but it wasn't clear what type. And after further test results from his bone marrow aspiration, he was then diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.
Treatment: Chemotherapy
Within a few days after diagnosis, Cristian started his chemotherapy. The first year there were many hospital visits, some visits lasting weeks at a time for his treatments.
Because of his young age, there were concerns of organ failure from the strong chemicals that are intended for adult bodies. His family had to take many precautions, such as wearing gloves while changing his diapers and cleaning up his vomit resulting from his chemotherapy.
Treatment
Follow Up
Cristian was in remission a few months following his diagnosis. During his first year of remission, he was prescribed steroids, which took quite a toll on his young body. Neutropenia was an effect of his treatments so he needed blood transfusions and platelet transfusions.
Currently in his second year of treatment, he goes for chemotherapy once a month and also does oral chemotherapy at home. He also regularly supplies a bone marrow sample for testing to make sure he continues to be Leukemia free.