“This is the part of cancer you can’t plan for,” All-Star Wilson’s mom Devin said. “The emotional pitfalls and scars will leave a mark on every member of the family as well as trying to keep up with regular chores, tasks, and appointments. There are too many days away from home to count.”
At seven years old, Wilson had to make a decision determining the outcome of his leg because of a childhood cancer diagnosis.
For most of us, this is unimaginable.
For Wilson’s family, it was too. Until it became their reality. Before May of 2024, Wilson’s family was always out and about. His mom Devin and dad Austin are both mental health professionals: Devin at a small state college and Austin at the local hospital. They had a busy, happy family life. Wilson and his younger siblings played sports, acted in plays, and loved family outings to places like the zoo and the children’s museum.
One night, he woke up screaming in agony. His parents took him to a walk-in clinic. An x-ray revealed a tumor, which doctors thought was a bone infection called osteomyelitis. But on April 22, his parents received the call that Wilson’s tumor was cancer.
Life for Wilson’s family changed immediately at that moment.
Right away, he was sent to Children’s Hospital in Omaha, Nebraska — a 90-minute drive from their home — where Devin and Austin were told Wilson’s official diagnosis was Ewing Sarcoma. Wilson had surgery to have his port placed to provide access for treatment and blood draws.
“We were in shock,” Devin said. “We all cried. We knew it was serious. I wanted to know what the treatment plan would look like, and Austin started asking questions at the hospital where he worked.”
Because of his treatment plan, Devin, except for a few days, stopped working. Austin used his PTO in addition to days generously donated by his co-workers. Family members and friends helped look after Wilson’s siblings.
A few months into his chemotherapy treatment, Wilson and his family learned that he needed major surgery on his leg. “You have two options,” the doctor told Wilson and his parents. “Limb salvage which would involve multiple difficult surgeries over a long time period, or one surgery called rotationplasty.”
Wilson, at seven years old faced a decision no young boy should have to make. He did not want multiple surgeries, so he chose rotationplasty which removes the bottom of his femur, his knee, and his upper tibia and then rotates the lower leg and attaches it to the top of the femur. In addition to the severity of this surgery, their family would also need to travel to Minnesota to have it done, a seven-hour drive from his home.
His surgery was successful, but because of the chemotherapy, his amputation did not heal properly, causing lots of pain and yet another surgery.
The impact of childhood cancer goes beyond the health and physical outcomes of the child. Wilson for example voiced to us that he missed the part of his leg that was removed saying: “I want to hug it.”
While Wilson was in the hospital, his little brother cut his toe and needed to go to the emergency room. Wilson himself was having a hard day. His teeth and gums were sore, and he was so tired from his treatment that he declared he had had enough of the hospital. Devin and Austin had to split their time and often felt overwhelmed by it all.
Wilson’s family has had to lean on their community. They live in a small town where people have rallied around to host fundraisers and help out with his siblings. Although Wilson cannot attend the events when his counts are too low, he has been able to join his class sometimes, which has become a highlight for him.
Pinky Swear Foundation was another community of support Wilson’s family leaned on. Devin said that when her family received an Orange Envelope from Pinky Swear Foundation, “It felt like a sigh of relief. We used it for groceries. That lifted a huge weight.”
“Without help, we would not have been able to survive,” Devin said. “We have been surviving paycheck to paycheck through Austin. It was part of the initial panic when he was diagnosed. How do we afford this? We had to take on more debt and hope that we could pay it off.”
The Orange Envelope program provides assistance within six months of a child’s diagnosis, including a $200 gift card and letters of encouragement. Wilson’s family also received assistance through the Pinky Swear All-Star fund, which provides help with rent or mortgage payments, utility bills, gas, groceries, and car payments, allowing parents to focus on what matters most — their child.
“When Pinky Swear paid our mortgage, I cried a lot. You made our December payment, and I was overwhelmed with gratitude.” – Devin said.
Wilson completed chemotherapy treatment at the end of January 2025. At his hospital, he rang the gong and chose “Believer” by Imagine Dragons to play as he celebrated being done with treatment.
Although chemotherapy is done, his mom Devin pointed out that his battles are not over.
“We still feel in limbo. He is out of chemo, but of course, he still has scans, so we are still anxious about those,” she said.
On top of the anxiety of scans, Wilson navigates a new prosthetic leg and is starting school again. His family continues to feel the weight of the financial toll of childhood cancer.
“I don’t have words for how much financial support helps,” Devin said. “As parents, we want to provide for our kids and the help adds so much less stress to the situation. We have talked about what it would look like if we had to sell our house or one of the cars. We also have lost a lot of time together and are really missing our old life.”