A Little About the Steppes

Anne and her husband Jon have been married nearly 20 years. Anne is a professional organizer. Jon is a retired law enforcement officer, having served 21 years on CMPD. Their son Cody is 17 years old – a Junior in high school.

Anne, how did you know Cody was ill?

Cody wanted to play football; and on August 25th, we went for a “well visit” to see Pediatrician Christopher Guido of Eastover Pediatrics. Cody had mono at the end of the 20-21 school year and still had some neck swelling afterward. (Who knew mono can “kick off” lymphoma?) One look at Cody’s neck and Dr. Guido’s demeanor immediately changed. Bloodwork, heart ultrasound and EKG followed. All those tests came back totally normal. Still, we were referred to Dr. Christine Bolen, a pediatric Hematologist-Oncologist. 

On September 3rd, Dr. Bolen saw Cody for bloodwork and a chest scan. Again, nothing was out of the ordinary – but the doctor was concerned about the swelling in Cody’s neck and scheduled a biopsy. The September 21st biopsy brought unwanted results – cancer – Classic Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. If not alarming enough, a September 27th PET scan confirmed the location of Stage 4 cancer and that Cody had pneumonia as well. 

The whirlwind continued. On September 30th, we met with Dr. Bolen and the team at St. Jude’s affiliate office here in Charlotte. On October 4th, Cody had surgery to put a port in his chest and chemo began. Pulmonary testing, CT scans, PET scans followed and showed treatment was working. Radiation would not be needed! Cody’s last day of chemo was February 9th. Final CT scans February 28th. And March 2, his port came out successfully.

“The hardest part was trying to wrap my brain around what exactly was happening – it all happened so fast, it was hard to take it all in.” 

Anne

Not only were the Steppes experiencing the chaos of the pandemic, but Anne and Jon were immersed in the constant care and worry for their son. Anne revealed that at one point, she forgot it was her own birthday. She was just trying to get through one day at a time and it competely slipped her mind, until her mother reminded her. It was so hard to watch her son fighting this awful thing and feel so terrible after chemo. The last thing she thought of was herself.

In the toughest parts of this, what was your saving grace?  

Our village – they truly circled the wagons around us! Cody’s school, Carmel Christian, was one of our most constant and fervent supporters. Cody’s classmates, the entire student body, the parents and the staff there all played a major role in getting our son through this journey. His school even threw Cody a parade in our neighborhood! 

Our family, friends and neighbors ALL rallied – in front, beside us and behind us – whatever we needed. They made meals, brought Cody gifts, sent “pick me ups” in the mail, visited and checked in on us. Everyone prayed, prayed and prayed some more for our sweet son. We did not go through this alone – no one could. Parents whose children have gone through this showed up. Parents who had tragically lost children to cancer showed up. It was the most humbling experience of our lives to have so many people lifting us up. 

Anne

Sometimes, illness can be isolating. But Cody’s friends and classmates made sure to include him and spend time with him, throughout his entire treatment. He was not forgotten. His classmates even created “TEAM CODY” bracelets for him. This care and thoughtfulness helped Cody remain in good spirits, in spite of feeling terrible after his chemo treatments, even when all he wanted to do was sleep. In our session, Cody wore his Team Cody bracelet and the beanie hat that got him through his treaments, when he lost his hair from chemo. His hair was just coming back in at our session.