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Joel Shoop comforts his 8-month-old son Adam at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland. Adam was diagnosed with leukemia last month and recently completed his first round of chemotherapy.
Last month a seemingly harmless cold turned into something much worse for the Shoop family.
Eight-month-old Adam Shoop came down with the bug when his older brother and sister were sick. Adam’s mother, Devin, took him to his pediatrician, who agreed that he had caught the cold. But after a few days, Adam wasn’t improving and they returned to the doctor. After drawing blood and analyzing lab results, a pathologist determined that baby Adam had leukemia.
Adam was taken by ambulance to Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland that night with his mother by his side, and there they have remained for a little over a month. News of Adam’s illness took the entire family by surprise.
“There was no warning, no symptoms,” said Diane Shoop, Adam’s grandmother. “There’s this healthy baby and there’s no symptoms, no warnings. You want answers, but there aren’t any.”
Adam’s white blood cell count was elevated, and his red blood cell and platelet counts were low. Doctors at Doernbecher stabilized him with antibiotics and blood transfusions to increase his red cell count. After several days of tests, doctors determined that Adam had acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), a cancer of the blood and bone marrow.
While people of all ages have been diagnosed with the same type of leukemia, it is rare for babies. Adam is the first infant at Doernbecher to have AML, Diane said. Only about 6 percent of patients are under the age of 20 when they are diagnosed with that type of leukemia, according to the National Cancer Institute.
Once the type of leukemia was determined, Adam went through 10 days of chemotherapy treatment. Adam’s dad, Joel, shaved off Adam’s short brown hair a couple of weeks ago to help him adapt to losing his hair.
This week Devin noticed that her son had started to lose the fuzzy hairs from his head, which is the only side effect he has had to the treatment, she said. The bubbly baby hasn’t lost any weight or gotten sick as a result of the chemotherapy. While in the hospital, Adam has cut two teeth and has two more ready to break through, his mom said.
Even though he doesn’t look ill, Adam’s body responded well to the treatment, Devin said. “He really just sailed through the chemo,” she said.
Now that the first round of treatment is complete, the family and doctors are waiting for Adam’s cell counts to normalize. Once they do, Adam and Devin will be able to return to their Roseburg home for a week and then will have to return to Portland for another round of chemotherapy.
For the past month, Joel has spent his time between the two cities. He drives back and forth, spending part of the week working in Roseburg and the other part visiting his wife and son in Portland. Grandparents are caring for Adam’s brother, Nolan, 5, and sister Ryanne, 2, and occasionally they make trips to Portland as well.
During the next round of treatment, doctors will test Nolan and Ryanne to see if either one is a bone morrow match for Adam, Devin said. If one of them matches — there is a 25 percent chance — then doctors will move forward with a bone marrow transplant, she said.
If neither is a match, doctors will wait to see how Adam’s body responds to treatment and then decide whether to proceed with a transplant from an unknown donor, Devin said. The entire process could take up to six months.
While the doctor’s prognosis for Adam is good, Diane said the uncertainty and the unknown — like the surprise diagnosis — still have the family worried.
“When he found out, Joel said to his dad ‘I might lose my son,’” Diane said. “That was heartbreaking.”
Until they’re able to return home, Adam and Devin spend their days in the hospital room at Doernbecher. Because Adam is susceptible to illnesses, doctors do not want him out of his room. So he spends time playing on his bed, or when he’s not hooked up to an IV he plays on the couch in the room and looks out the window. He also likes to sit in his baby seat with toys and watch people as they walk down the hospital hallways, Devin said.
“Adam is doing awesome,” she said. “He looks like a normal little kid right now.”
• You can reach reporter Marissa Harshman at 957-4202 or by e-mail at mharshman@newsreview.info.
Eight-month-old Adam Shoop came down with the bug when his older brother and sister were sick. Adam’s mother, Devin, took him to his pediatrician, who agreed that he had caught the cold. But after a few days, Adam wasn’t improving and they returned to the doctor. After drawing blood and analyzing lab results, a pathologist determined that baby Adam had leukemia.
Adam was taken by ambulance to Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland that night with his mother by his side, and there they have remained for a little over a month. News of Adam’s illness took the entire family by surprise.
“There was no warning, no symptoms,” said Diane Shoop, Adam’s grandmother. “There’s this healthy baby and there’s no symptoms, no warnings. You want answers, but there aren’t any.”
Adam’s white blood cell count was elevated, and his red blood cell and platelet counts were low. Doctors at Doernbecher stabilized him with antibiotics and blood transfusions to increase his red cell count. After several days of tests, doctors determined that Adam had acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), a cancer of the blood and bone marrow.
While people of all ages have been diagnosed with the same type of leukemia, it is rare for babies. Adam is the first infant at Doernbecher to have AML, Diane said. Only about 6 percent of patients are under the age of 20 when they are diagnosed with that type of leukemia, according to the National Cancer Institute.
Once the type of leukemia was determined, Adam went through 10 days of chemotherapy treatment. Adam’s dad, Joel, shaved off Adam’s short brown hair a couple of weeks ago to help him adapt to losing his hair.
This week Devin noticed that her son had started to lose the fuzzy hairs from his head, which is the only side effect he has had to the treatment, she said. The bubbly baby hasn’t lost any weight or gotten sick as a result of the chemotherapy. While in the hospital, Adam has cut two teeth and has two more ready to break through, his mom said.
Even though he doesn’t look ill, Adam’s body responded well to the treatment, Devin said. “He really just sailed through the chemo,” she said.
Now that the first round of treatment is complete, the family and doctors are waiting for Adam’s cell counts to normalize. Once they do, Adam and Devin will be able to return to their Roseburg home for a week and then will have to return to Portland for another round of chemotherapy.
For the past month, Joel has spent his time between the two cities. He drives back and forth, spending part of the week working in Roseburg and the other part visiting his wife and son in Portland. Grandparents are caring for Adam’s brother, Nolan, 5, and sister Ryanne, 2, and occasionally they make trips to Portland as well.
During the next round of treatment, doctors will test Nolan and Ryanne to see if either one is a bone morrow match for Adam, Devin said. If one of them matches — there is a 25 percent chance — then doctors will move forward with a bone marrow transplant, she said.
If neither is a match, doctors will wait to see how Adam’s body responds to treatment and then decide whether to proceed with a transplant from an unknown donor, Devin said. The entire process could take up to six months.
While the doctor’s prognosis for Adam is good, Diane said the uncertainty and the unknown — like the surprise diagnosis — still have the family worried.
“When he found out, Joel said to his dad ‘I might lose my son,’” Diane said. “That was heartbreaking.”
Until they’re able to return home, Adam and Devin spend their days in the hospital room at Doernbecher. Because Adam is susceptible to illnesses, doctors do not want him out of his room. So he spends time playing on his bed, or when he’s not hooked up to an IV he plays on the couch in the room and looks out the window. He also likes to sit in his baby seat with toys and watch people as they walk down the hospital hallways, Devin said.
“Adam is doing awesome,” she said. “He looks like a normal little kid right now.”
• You can reach reporter Marissa Harshman at 957-4202 or by e-mail at mharshman@newsreview.info.
