Connor and Caden Ballard

Welcome to Connor and Caden's Web Page. It has been provided to keep people updated about our boys with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL).
Connor was a very young, active and healthly boy until one weekend in May 2003 he fainted on the soccer field. We had noticed that Connor had been winded climbing a flight of stairs and had been extremely tired. He was also looking very pale. We took him to the pediatrician's office and asked to do some lab work. Later that day our pediatrician (who is a very dear friend of ours) called me and said are you sitting down. I said "What is it!" - he said it is one of two things. Connor's WBC is 90,000 and that is very high. The normal range is between 5-15,000. He either has a very bad infection or he has leukemia. He told me to get Connor down to St. John's hospital as soon as I could to meet with Dr. Bob Bergamini a pediatric oncologist. I immediately got a hold of Chris and neither one of us remember driving to the hospital for what Dr. Bob would confirm to us that Connor had leukemia. We were in a state of shock. He was admitted to the hospital as a "high risk" patient and began Chemotherapy the next morning. Fast forward 16 months later. Connor's little brother Caden was experiencing some same symptoms as Connor. We thought he broke his ankle and took him in twice for x-rays. He was a very active 2 1/2 year old and suddenly did not want to walk - he crawled or had to be carried. I took baby brother Cole in for a 2 month check up and asked our pediatrician to order some lab work for Caden. Thinking to myself "I know it is impossible for two siblings to have cancer" - it has to be something else. Well our worst nightmare came true again. Caden was diagnosed with the same cancer as Connor. He was admitted to Children's Hospital and began Chemotherapy the next day.

Journal

Sunday, May 13, 2007 0:15 AM CDT

Happy Mother's Day...

Today I write to let you all know that my father, Gordon Johnson, passed away at 9:30 pm May 12, 2007. Chris and I, Leslie and Scott and my mom were all with him when he went to heaven. We all said we loved him and told him it was o.k. and he took his last breath. He battled this horrible disease for 14 months. Cancer is so ravaging! I am so glad he is NOT suffering from this nasty cancer anymore!!!!

I am extremely exhausted...
More details to follow...

Love and prayers,
Lisa

Hospital Information:

The Ballard's
19109 Frances Circle
Omaha, NE 68130

Links:

E-mail Author: lisaballard@cox.net