Tish Bendixen

Thankful for my son!

When I was 22 years old, I gave birth to the best part of my life, my son. When my baby was approximately 3 months old, I felt a lump in-between his rib cage. I made an appointment at the local Family Medicine clinic. The doctor told me it was a hernia. I researched hernias and my baby did not have hernia; it kept growing. I took my baby back to the clinic approximately 5 times. They gave me a referral to see a surgeon at The Children's Hospital in Denver. The only problem, it was 3 months away. I was referred to a local Surgeon. He confirmed that the lump was not a hernia, but the chance of it being cancer is so low, he recommended I wait the 3 months. The following day, I drove to Children's hospital and walked into the surgeon, Dr. Hendrickson's office. I was obviously distraught. He fit us into his schedule. After examining my son, he sent us to get a CT Scan. After the scan, I was approached and told that the mass was the size of a grapefruit. It was definitely cancer, they just didn't know what kind. They scheduled a biopsy. They told me I could admit him now, or go home pack and prepare because we would now be practically living at children's hospital. The night after learning of the enormous mass on my baby's liver, I prayed, called family and friends. The night after the CT Scan, I fed my baby like any other day, but this day has changed my life forever then he immediately started to projectile vomit. His screamed in pain, it was the worst feeling for a mother. I was terrified. I called 911 and Children's hospital. The EMTs arrived and said my baby's vitals are normal. I told them to take us to the ER. Once we arrived the emergency department had received the information from Children's hospital. I remember seeing my little baby tangled in medical equipment. They gave him an x-ray and determined that his tumor on his liver ruptured and he was not hemorrhaging. They took him on a flight for life to Children's that night. I don't recall what I said or how I reacted, all I do know is that I was scared, and angry at every doctor that told me to wait. What if I listened to them? They could not find the source of the hemorrhage. They pumped my baby with blood for almost 48 hours, then the pressure stopped the hemorrhaging. Dr. Hendrickson came to see talk to me. He told me the risk of the hemorrhage returning was high; he felt confident to remove the tumor and the left half of my son's liver. The surgery lasted about 3 or 4 hours. Dr. Hendrickson successfully removed the tumor and a portion of his liver. For the next 10 months, my baby was on chemotherapy treatments. 8/5/2020 was 15 years since my son's last chemo treatment; he is now a happy normal 16 year old boy. I thank god for him everyday.