The Longest Night

Sarah and Michael made it to the Emergency Room at Mott Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor about 6:30 that evening. I stayed back and got all of the logistics taken care of for us to be gone overnight. This included making sure the other three kids were taken care of as well as finding places for the dogs to stay, and packing Sarah, Michael, and I an overnight bag. I finally made it to the emergency room around 10:00 PM that evening.

This particular emergency room was the busiest one that I have ever seen. There were literally people in hospital beds in the hallways because all of the rooms were full. By some miracle we were given a tiny room for which we were grateful. That evening there were constant visits by doctors, nurses, techs, and medical students. We were asked the same questions over and over again. We were extremely impressed with the professionalism and level of care we received. Finally, around 11:00 PM one of the ER doctors confirmed our worst fears. He told us that all of the indicators pointed toward Michael having leukemia. We were still waiting for final confirmation from the blood work, but he all but guaranteed us that leukemia was the diagnosis.

When the doctor left, I buried my face in my hands and sobbed like a little boy as the weight of the situation came crashing down on my shoulders. I held Michael, and Sarah and we wept together. We prayed, and through our tears, we recommitted Michael to the Lord’s care.

Our first call was to my parents. My voice cracked as I tried to speak into the phone, and for a moment I couldn’t get any words out. “Mike? Mike are you ok?” My mom’s concerned voice came through the phone’s speaker. “No….no, I’m not ok.” We had given our family members a heads up that leukemia might be a possible diagnosis, but I choked on my words as I shared the devastating news. I do not remember the exact details of that conversation or of the next one with my in-laws. I just remember reeling from the overwhelming grief.

We spent the night in that tiny room. Sarah and I crammed onto a little couch, the only place where we could rest our heads, and tried to sleep. The remainder of that night was a blur of visits from medical staff, crying children down the hall, cramped and aching muscles, and quiet tears.

In the morning, we met with the oncologist, Dr. Walling. She spent quite a bit of time in our room explaining in detail the particular type of leukemia that she suspected that Michael had. Dr. Walling is one of the most kind, gracious, patient individuals that I have ever met. As I write this, we have been at Mott for almost a week, and she has already become like family to us. The level of professionalism and care that we have received from her and her team has been outstanding and at a level that I have never received at any other medical facility.

Dr. Walling told us that if there is a good kind of leukemia to get, the kind that Michael was suspected to have was the best. It was the most treatable with an over 90% survival rate. She also informed us that she would be his primary physician on this journey and that she specialized in this particular kind of leukemia in adolescents. She was a comforting and calming presence in the midst of our world being turned upside down.

After she left, Sarah, Michael, and I prayed together, and as we were wrapping up, Dr. Walling came in and told us that she had just received confirmation that Michael had Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Michael’s official diagnosis came on Thursday, January 30th. We were told to plan on being in the hospital until the following Friday.