Many were touched by the story of Adrienne and Jason Stewart, an American couple who adopted a 3-year-old Filipino girl with no arms and legs and gave her a happy home. Now, the Stewart family are once again inspiring many, but this time it is how they are remaining positive in the face of an entirely new challenge.
Their adoptive Filipino son, 6-year-old Joshua has been diagnosed with a rare type of leukemia called Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), which is also considered cancer of the blood and bone marrow.
Taking to social media once again, the couple recounted how they found out about their little boy’s condition in March 2017. At first, they thought it was just a simple case of the flu and strep throat, but after his condition persisted for several days, they brought him back to the clinic.
“There, he was first diagnosed with anemia, and we were admitted to the hospital for treatment. On April 4th, the doctor met with us about some tests that they were running on him, because things did not meet the normal results,” the Utah-based couple wrote in a post on the Stewart Family facebook page. “This is where the big news hit us hard. Our son was diagnosed with AML, or Acute Myeloid Leukemia. By the end of the week, he had begun his chemotherapy treatment.”
They went on to share that they had “fallen into a treatment routine. Spending a lot of time at the hospital, taking shifts, making sure that (Joshua) feels that he is cared for and loved.”
Choosing to focus on the positive
“We do not know what is to come in the future, we hold high hopes of what he will become. While we are aware of the possibilities, we choose to focus on the positive. This has been beaten before and will be beaten again,” they wrote, adding how they felt the need to update their nearly 3,000 followers on Facebook. “We have already felt much love and support from family and friends, and it has already carried us through some tough times and we will be thankful when the time comes that our friends and family will be there for us again.”
Adrienne and Jason Stewart adopted Joshua in 2012.
Nearly a month after they shared the sad news, the Stewart family shared some great news! After a bone marrow biopsy was done on Joshua, it was found to have no trace of cancer.
“We are so happy with this wonderful news and have much hope for his future!” they wrote on Facebook, adding how they will be focused on the rest of his treatment as they remain positive. “He will be in and out of the hospital for the next several months as he endures 3 more rounds of intense chemo[therapy] and recovery to make sure that any undetected cancer cells hiding in his body have been destroyed. This will give him a better chance of not relapsing in the future.”
photo: Stewart Family facebook
The Stewart Family believes Joshua was led to them to save his life
Unshaken, their faith remains strong and they believe God allowed them to adopt Joshua to save his life.,
“We feel that God led Joshua’s mother to give him up for a greater reason than what she originally thought. She was hoping to give him a chance at a better life, but the reality now is that in her giving him up she has given him a chance at life,” the couple wrote. “In the Philippines and other impoverished countries, most kids with Acute Myeloid Leukemia don’t even live long enough to be diagnosed. Even if they do end up getting diagnosed, many will not survive long, as their families cannot afford the high costs of chemotherapy and the long hospital stays. It is very sad, but we feel so blessed that we have a chance at saving his life. His birth mother most likely will never know what she has done to give her son the best chance of survival,” the Stewarts said.
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READ: Utah couple adopts Filipino toddler without limbs, gives her a happy home
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