Lemonade fundraiser held for Bryce Lorenz

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, and this past Thursday, Sept. 10, I had the opportunity to sit down and visit with Dr. Kimberly Lorenz, owner of “Lorenz Family Chiropractic” here in Littlefield.

While 2020 has been quite a long challenge for all of us here in Littlefield, as well as everyone across this Country, it has been so much more of a trial for Neal and Kimberly Lorenz, as in January, their precious 2-year-old son, Bryce, was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (A.L.L.). A special Lemonade fund-raiser for the family, was held Friday at the Chiropractic office.

Upon doing some research, I found that A.L.L. is a type of cancer of the blood and bone marrow, that affects white blood cells, and it’s the most common childhood cancer.

A.L.L. occurs when a bone marrow cell develops errors in its DNA. It’s also a rare form of cancer with fewer than 200,000 cases per year. Symptoms may include enlarged lymph nodes, bruising, fever, bone pain, bleeding from the gums, and frequent infections.

The “Acute” part indicates that the leukemia can progress quickly, and if not treated, would probably be fatal within a few months. “Lymphocytic” means it develops from early, (immature) forms of lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell.

A.L.L. starts in the bone marrow, which is the soft inner part of certain bones, where new blood cells are made! A.L.L. is also the most common cancers for people under the age of 20, and the survival rate is higher for young people, at around a 93% cure rate with only a 2.2% death rate. Chemotherapy is the most common treatment for childhood leukemia, but sometimes targeted therapy is used, since it targets specific parts of the cancer cells, and that works differently than standard Chemo and it has less severe side effects. Also, while still a rare cancer, the more common age for someone to get this form of cancer, is over the age of 66 years old.

Kimberly said that this past January, little Bryce just suddenly stopped crawling and walking, his little legs were painful to the touch, and his color was off. They placed a call to his Pediatrician, and within a short few days, they had the diagnosis of A.L,L. Working quickly, the physicians immediately placed a port, and began his Chemo Treatments at U.M.C’s Southwest Cancer Center in Lubbock.

There are six Phases to his Chemo, and Bryce is currently to begin the last part of Phase 5, which will start Sept. 17th. Kimberly said so far, Bryce has done really well, with very few “hiccups” along the way, during his treatments. “Hiccups” as they are referred to, are things such as fatigue, crankiness, and tiredness, due to the treatments. She also said, “sweet Bryce didn’t lose his hair until June, and up until then he just looked like a normal 2-year-old.”

Little warrior Bryce also has a 5- year-old big brother, Wyatt, who was due to start Pre-School this Fall, but due to the Covid-19 virus showing up this past March, and the immune system of little Bryce, Neal and Kimberly are working at home with Wyatt, who’s doing very well, while they continue tending to all of Bryce’s Healthcare and needs. They felt this was the best option for Wyatt at this time to keep everyone healthy and germs at bay.

I asked Kimberly how Wyatt is handling his little brother’s illness, and she said: “Wyatt doesn’t really understand any of it, and we tell him Bryce is sick, and can’t play sometimes.”

“Also, since Bryce lost his hair, Wyatt now says ‘I’m not sick because I have hair,’ so he seems to associate the illness now with Byrce’s hair loss more.”

Phase 6 of Bryce’s Chemo is set to begin in October, and it is considered the “Maintenance Phase,” which is to last from October of 2020 to March of 2023.

Kimberly further explained, in conclusion: “Only 4% of cancer funding goes to Pediatric Research, so I encourage everyone to make donations to Cancer Research across the Country, and let’s work together to try and knock out cancer in our lifetime, so no other children, nor adults, have to suffer from this horrible disease.”