Axel, a 14-year-old with a passion for languages and drawing, threw his doctors and family a curveball when he began complaining of aches and pains in his jaw and arms. “Axel had always been healthy and never complained about pain,” said Alma, Axel’s mother. “When he started saying that he was not feeling well, exhausted very often, and in a lot of pain, I started to worry it might be something more serious.”  

After several misdiagnoses, Axel was seen at Jackson Memorial Hospital, where the medical staff sent him via emergency ambulance to Nicklaus Children’s Hospital’s Helen & Jacob Shaham Cancer & Blood Disorders Institute. There, he was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). ALL is the most common cancer among children, affecting the bone marrow and subsequently, the blood.  

Axel spent the next month at Nicklaus Children’s receiving chemotherapy and experiencing the challenging side effects of treatment such as hair loss, nausea, loss of appetite, and low energy. But he never wavered in his belief that he would be okay because he trusted that with the proper diagnosis and the right team of doctors, he was in good hands. 

Not wanting to leave Axel alone during this time, Alma requested permission from work to spend her days next to her son. Knowing that treatment has impacts that extend beyond the cancer patient, the Nicklaus Children’s social work team guided Alma through Axel’s diagnosis and other family matters that were impacted by this unexpected, life-changing event. They worked with her to write a letter explaining Axel’s diagnosis and treatment to request permission for her parents to spend time here from abroad, provided a meal card so she would never have to worry about leaving the main campus to get food to nurture herself, and connected her with other community resources and partners.  

“I’m eternally grateful for every person I met at Nicklaus Children’s because they not only helped my son, but they helped my entire family,” said Alma. “They counseled my daughter Mia, Axel’s older sister, who was having a difficult time with her brother’s diagnosis, and they guided me through a challenging relationship all the while helping me process my son’s cancer diagnosis. The Nicklaus Children’s staff became part of our family.” 

A month after completing treatment, Axel returned home and slowly rediscovered things he loves such as learning Latin, art, and his favorite school subject – mathematics. He is still receiving infusion treatment at Nicklaus Children’s as they monitor his ALL, but today he is a thriving young man who started his first year of high school this fall.  

To learn more about Nicklaus Children’s work against cancer and blood disorders and to support our cancer research, please donate at https://donate.nicklauschildrens.org/cancer.