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Casey Skinner gave birth to her twin boys, Logan and Regan, in 2010. She was thrilled to be a mother, but had no idea what motherhood had in store for her.
In August 2012, Logan began to fall ill. He was bruising easily and his skin began to develop a yellowish tinge.
Skinner took her son to the doctor, who quickly diagnosed Logan with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a blood cancer that infects the white blood cells and spreads incredibly quickly.
Logan was immediately put on chemotherapy treatment, during which he developed septicemia, a potentially deadly blood infection.
“I just remember when I took him to the hospital and when you see the nurses panicking and they are screaming for the doctors…” Skinner recounted. “We thought he might die now.”
The doctors managed to save Logan and stabilize his condition, but Skinner was incredibly shaken, “You think it won’t happen to me or my kids and then you realize that you are not invincible and that’s so scary.”
Less than a year later, Skinner found herself in the same situation, except this time, it was with Regan.
When Logan had fallen ill, Skinner had noticed that he was getting strange infections and bruising easily. Once Regan began to bruise in the same manner, Skinner’s heart sank.
“Regan wasn’t unwell when he was diagnosed but he had got an identical bruise to Logan,” Skinner remembered. “I went to get him tested and they said he had leukemia too…”
Back when Logan had received his diagnosis, Skinner believed it would be easier to hear the second time around, if Regan ended up developing the disease as well.
But she was wrong.
“When I was told Regan did have the disease it hit me so hard. I wondered whether I would be able to look after both of them,” Skinner admitted, “but I got through it.”
Now, both Logan and Regan have finished their respective chemotherapy treatments, but continue to be monitored every 12 weeks to ensure that the disease isn’t returning.
In the meantime, the Make a Wish Foundation is providing the two brothers and their family a trip to Disneyworld, in Florida, to celebrate Logan and Regan’s improved health.
