For the Tate family Father's Day 2009 will forever be remembered as the day that our 7-month-old baby boy, Lucas was diagnosed with Leukemia.

Lucas had been running a fever for several days. The doctors that saw him said that it was just a cold and that it would soon pass. But when the fever continued to climb we went to an urgent care center and did blood work. The blood test suggested Leukemia and we were rushed to UCLA for what would be the start of a tumultuous year of chemotherapy, lengthy hospital stays, infections, and the realization that we were now a family with a child fighting cancer. 

Our family came together to face this challenge. My wife and I quit our jobs to care for Lucas full time. We split our time between home and the hospital so that our older son could continue to attend school. His treatment lasted one full year and didn't allow for many trips home to Bakersfield. While we struggled to make the best of our new life, Lucas endured chemotherapy treatments without much complaint. He was strong, smiley, and inspired everyone around him. We faced every challenge together and could not have made it through this journey without the tremendous support of our friends and family.

Today, Lucas is a healthy, thriving four and a half year old who enjoys spending time with his big brother, watching Doctor Who, and playing Pokemon. He is active and bears no memory of the time that he faced cancer and won. We remember every day we spent in the hospital during that year and feel incredibly blessed to have him with us today.

Our family is grateful to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society for the transportation assistance that allowed our family to make the countless trips to and from UCLA. 

LLS has also been instrumental in the development of new treatments that children like Lucas benefit from during their fight against blood cancer.