COLUMBUS, Ohio — At birth, Callahan Hare was diagnosed with infantile leukemia. Now at 19-months, giving thanks has a whole new meaning for his family.
"The fact that we can be together for Thanksgiving this year is...it's so exciting. It's all we want is just the four of us to be together," said Katie Hare, Callahan's mother.
Callahan was born in April 2021. His leukemia diagnosis is rare, with about 150 cases in the United States every year.
With 6 months left of chemotherapy treatments, this Thanksgiving looks a lot different for his family.
"Last year, we were at a pretty tough point in Callahan's journey," said Matt Hare, Callahan's dad. "The chemotherapy that he had gotten was pretty harsh. He had some liver damage. And so, we had to pivot what the plan was and there was a lot of unknown about what that meant for Callahan's long-term prognosis and so it was a pretty scary time."
Callahan was discharged from the hospital last December and though the journey continues, his parents said being together gives them a new reason to be thankful.
"We're still very much kind of in the fight with Callahan and so it's hard to look too far ahead. But you see pictures of them back from when he was in the hospital and on really intense chemotherapy to now and he's a little boy now just a regular little boy," Matt said.
"It gives you so much hope for the future because you know a year ago, we didn't know what it would look like today," Katie added.
You can help kids like Callahan by donating to the Nationwide Children's Hospital "Light up the Lawn, Light up a Light" event. Now through Saturday, NRG will match donations up to $25,000. Click here to donate.