A seemingly routine trip to the dentist last summer turned into something far more complicated and frightening for a 10-year-old Emporia boy.
That hasn’t prevented him from keeping his spirits up, though the past few months have been trying for him and his family.
“Everything’s happened so fast, we haven’t had time to even know what to do,” said Joe Muckenthaler, father of Alex, a fifth-grader at Sacred Heart School.
Alex’s ordeal began in July, when he went to the dentist complaining of dental pain and a couple of loose teeth. After subsequent visits to dentists, a doctor, a chiropractor, an oral surgeon and numerous tests, Alex was diagnosed in early August with Burkitt’s Lymphoma and has since been undergoing a series of chemotherapy treatments.
“He’d spent the night at the neighbor’s, and he called his mother and said he had two loose teeth,” Muckenthaler said about the beginning of Alex’s ordeal. “He’s got a mouthful of permanent teeth, so she immediately jumped into action and took him to the dentist.”
That was July 14, but it would be several weeks before the real problem was discovered. In the following days, Alex went to express care, followed by a visit to a doctor and other specialists. It wasn’t until late in July when an oral surgeon suggested that Alex’s problems were symptoms of something else.
“He recommended we go back to our doctor and get a full blood work screening,” Muckenthaler said. The blood work at first suggested a possible bacterial infection, showing an elevated count of white blood cells.
A second blood test early in August showed no improvement.
“That showed I had a way elevated count, so they rushed me to the emergency room,” Alex said. That day, Alex was transferred to Children’s Mercy in Kansas City.
“We got there about six in the evening, and that night the doctor dropped the ‘C-bomb’ on me and my wife, Kristine,” Muckenthaler said.
Burkitt’s Lymphoma is a cancer of the lymphatic system that tends to be fast-growing. Doctors were hopeful, however, because Alex’s was caught early and fast-growing cancers also can respond quickly to treatment. Alex’s chemotherapy began the same night he was diagnosed.
“Within 48 hours of getting there, we were on what I call ‘the cure,’” Muckenthaler said.
Since then, Alex has undergone several subsequent rounds of chemotherapy in Kansas City, an experience the family describes as “intense.”
“We’ve been fortunate so far to not have any setbacks,” Kristine Muckenthaler said about the treatment regimen. “We’ve been following their calendar to a T, because every time we go back for the next round, they have to check his counts and make sure everything is good enough to start another round.”
In the meantime, Alex has been trying to keep up with school, and has seen a great deal of support from friends and family. One example of this support took place at the Sacred Heart Mexican Supper. His cousin, Megan Rohde, along with friend Paige Schmid, sold tickets on Alex’s behalf, bringing in $3,000 in ticket sales for the supper. Also, though Alex was not able to play football in the recreation commission’s youth league, all of the players for the league wore stickers on the backs of their helmets that said, “Muck.”
Though the past few months have been difficult for the family, the experience has brought positive qualities to the surface of each of the family’s members.
“We have seen our humor arise through this whole thing quite a bunch,” Joe Muckenthaler said.
To help cope with the process and to keep friends updated on Alex’s progress, the Muckenthalers set up a page for Alex on CaringBridge.com. Early on, the two wrote in the journal every day about the family’s experiences in treatment.
And though the Muckenthalers have kept up with the treatment schedule, there have been some difficulties. Between several of the treatment sessions, Alex came down with fevers that had to be treated at the emergency room. A fever of 101 degrees meant an automatic trip back to the hospital, Joe Muckenthaler said. Alex also experienced complications with the port doctors had installed to administer the chemotherapy drugs, and the drugs caused hair loss and a persistent rash.
Alex’s trips to the hospital contained some positive experiences, too.
“He’s had some awesome visitors at the hospital,” Joe said, including Chris Getz, Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer of the Kansas City Royals, sports broadcaster Dick Vitale and former Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Trent Green. News clips at the hospital aired on Fox and NBC affiliate stations in Kansas City.
“They both aired a clip on the five o’clock news,” Joe Muckenthaler said. “They interviewed me and Alex, but they only showed me.”
“That’s only because you were crying,” Alex said to his father.
“I got choked up,” Muckenthaler said.
Now that the fifth round of chemotherapy is over, Alex will be monitored and tested as part of maintenance procedures. He will undergo a CT scan and a bone marrow test, after which Alex will go through four more rounds of chemotherapy.
Meanwhile, the family will continue to pray for the best and continue to be thankful for their blessings.
“I didn’t think I’d ever be able to handle a situation like this,” Joe Muckenthaler said. “And somehow we are. I don’t know how we are, and I don’t think we’ve changed that much, but it has to do with our family first and foremost.”
“I think this has made us realize how many people do care,” said Kristine Muckenthaler.
For more information and to read about Alex’s experiences, go to www.caringbridge.org/visit/alexmuckenthaler.