Meet Adrian

Adrian is a pretty impressive 11 year old boy. He can fly fish and play the cello! He loves baseball, fishing and recently went on his first turkey hunt. He also has started guitar lessons and has already picked up on a few cords and is on his way to being a rock star or a champion fisherman. Of course, like all boys his age, he is also a master video gamer. Adrian also has a little soft spot for his pets; 2 cats, Mooshoo and Meeko, and a very lucky 9 week old puppy named Luna was a special gift from his aunt. This puppy is the sweetest little white German Shepherd puppy ever! I think Luna is extra sweet and special because she knows how much she is loved by a very special boy. Adrian's fight with cancer began on 10/16/11, a day that started like any other. Adrian and his dad were on their way home from the family cabin after a day of fishing and closing the cabin for the season. Adrian complained of pain in his side which got worse on the car ride home, who would suspect a stop at Urgent Care would result in an immediate trip in an ambulance to Children's hospital and within in hours hearing the words Cancer! Adrian was diagnosed with a Wilms' tumor on his right kidney and had surgery within 2 days to remove the kidney and started 25 weeks of Chemotherapy and Radiation. (Wilms' tumor, also called nephroblastoma, is a malignant (cancerous) tumor originating in the cells of the kidney. It is the most common type of renal (kidney) cancer and accounts for about 6 percent of all childhood cancers. As with any cancer, prognosis and long-term survival can vary greatly from child to child, but most children with Wilms' tumor can be cured of the disease. ) In February there was good news – the kidney area looked clean. Chemotherapy continued and finished in April. Adrian had post-treatment scans at 3 months and indicated he was cancer free. This past November, things changed as his 6 month scans showed spots in his lungs and intensive chemotherapy treatment restarted. March 2013, while on chemotherapy it looks like the tumor is growing again. This round of Chemotherapy has stopped and the treatment plan is radiation. Everyone is crossing fingers and toes that this radiation treatment shrinks the tumors enough for surgery. Adrian and his family including the 2 cats and puppy joined Michelle and I in the studio recently for a really fun afternoon of Photography! I'll admit I drew the line at the snake. Here are some images from our session. Photos by Christine Kleidon and Michelle Schimek