Sean's story

Dear friends of St. Jude,

My name is Katie Witsoe, and my son, Sean, is a patient of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. I was so pleased to hear about the Give thanks. Walk. fundraiser for St. Jude because walking has been an essential part of our St. Jude story. That sounds strange, doesn’t it? But let me explain…

The simple act of walking is something we take for granted everyday. Once we learn, it never occurs to us that it might be something that, in an instant, could be taken away from us. My husband and I remember the first day our son Sean walked. As with most children, he took his first steps in the normal time frame of around a year old. So proud of himself, he had a huge silly smile on his face as he crossed the hardwood floor in our house. From walking, he went to running and playing like any healthy toddler. At little over 3 years old, Sean started to slow down a bit. Occasionally, he was getting sick in the mornings, did not want to play as much with our other children and had taken to sitting in a favorite chair with his toys. Four months later, it was Sean’s walking that helped us diagnose what has now become a fight for his life. We saw Sean’s balance was off and he could not walk straight. He said, “My legs are just not working today.” After a call to our doctor and a CT scan on Aug. 11, 2008, we learned Sean was suffering from a pediatric brain tumor referred to as a medulloblastoma. He was taken into a 16-hour surgery to remove the tumor from the back of his head. The surgery left him without the ability to walk, talk or move his arms. Heartbroken and scared for his life, we returned home to seek the best treatment for Sean’s type of cancer.

Because we were familiar with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the exceptional care it provides to children with cancer, we immediately consulted with our doctor about going there. We arrived at the hospital with Sean now having regressed back to needing a stroller, something he had given up months earlier. We began his treatment, which included not only the medicine he needed to cure the cancer growing in his body, but also physical, occupational and speech therapy to regain all the skills he had lost since surgery. I will now never forget the second time I saw Sean take his first steps. It was a perfectly beautiful September evening with the sun setting in the sky. I saw Sean, again a silly smile on his face, leave the arms of my husband and take about six wobbly steps, all on his own, into my waiting arms. After Sean’s surgery and diagnosis, this was something we thought we might not ever see again. Tears of joy filled my eyes.

Sean can now be seen walking quickly through the hospital. Sean still has a long way to go with treatment, but we are so very grateful for each day, each step in his amazing young life.

A walk might seem like a simple thing, but I hope you can see that it’s not. It’s huge. Each step is a promise – a first hope for a family like ours. And with each step you take on behalf of this wonderful hospital, you too are making a difference in the lives of St. Jude patients like my son. Bless you for your good hearts. I can’t thank you enough.

Sincerely,

Katie Witsoe

You can help children like Sean Witsoe by participating in the Give thanks. Walk. in a community near you.

Sean, age 4, medulloblastoma

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