“It feels like one of those choose your own adventure books,” he said, “but you really just don’t want to start this journey.”

It feels like one of those choose your own adventure books, where you select what happens next in the story,” he said, “but you really just don’t want to start this journey.”

— Isaac Martinez

SAN DIEGO, CA, USA, August 11, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- 17-year-old teenager, Isaac Martinez is no stranger to cancer. Isaac was first diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia at age three and spent nearly 3 and a half years undergoing intensive treatment. After entering “remission” and making it to his four-year cancer free mark, he relapsed in 2015.

This time the cancer had spread from just his bone marrow to his spinal cord and the treatments were more intense and required full cranial radiation. Isaac entered remission again for a second time, in 2017 and recently celebrated his five-year cancer free mark in February of this year.

He graduated high school in June, and at his request, took a 3-week coast to coast road trip with his mom to visit family and see some incredible places along the way. Toward the end of their trip, Isaac noticed his leg began to not work properly as he walked up the pathway surrounded by flags to Mount Rushmore.

By the end of that night, when they checked into a hotel in Casper, Wyoming, he had nearly lost the use of his left arm. Concerned, he and his mom decided to cut the trip short and head back to make a doctor's appointment. Initially, they assumed the long hours in the car, and his posture had created a pinched nerve, and this was backed up by his pediatrician.

A few days later, his family decided to take him to the ER on the recommendation of the chiropractor who found nothing wrong with his skeleton or alignment issues. All of his lab work indicated it was not a relapse of ALL, and that he wasn’t showing signs of infection. Further testing involved an MRI of the brain with contrast, and finally the family had gotten some answers, although it was not the answer they wanted to hear. The doctors and a social worker came in to deliver the news.

“We’re very sorry to tell you that you have a brain tumor, caused by the radiation from your last treatment. The treatment we used to save your life the last time around, has now put your life at risk this time around.” Isaac began to throw up, and his family angrily cried. Treatment will include a surgery to debulk and remove as much of the tumor as possible, intensive in-patient physical therapy, and radiation five days a week for 6 weeks. After that, treatment will depend on how the tumor responds, and may include the family relocating out of state to participate in clinical trials.

Instead of choosing between the several colleges that accepted Isaac and figuring out his journey of becoming an adult, he is forced to choose the path he takes to survive. “It feels like one of those choose your own adventure books, where you select what happens next in the story,” he said, “but you really just don’t want to start this journey.” A Go Fund Me and an interview on NBC are helping bring awareness and raise money for the family to take Isaac on his dream vacation to Egypt and to cover their expenses of having to take a minimum of six months off work to care for him. "Day to day is all we have at this point," his father Adam said, "and we are trying to make the most of that time."

Kimberley J Patterson
The Lyric Press
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