Hardyston family copes with boy's leukemia

HARDYSTON — There's a package on the porch at The Finn's home.
The small brown parcel, most likely from UPS, elicits quite a lot of excitement from Debbie Finn and her son, Michael.
"What is this?" Debbie asks.
Michael casually rolls by on his Hoverboard, crooks his neck and peers curiously at the box. He has pale skin and bright eyes.
"Did we order something?" he asks, hovering over his mom as she walks into the dining room, the walls lined with photographs of beautiful children and handsome parents.
Just then Finn's daughter, Kailey, comes bounding downstairs in flip flops and jean shorts.
"Bye Mom!" She shouts, her hair is sun kissed and long. Kailey is off to Mountain Creek.
Finn slides into a chair, smiling at the typical flurry of activity that goes hand in hand with having a family.
"She's always out," says Finn. "Michael's always been the laid back homebody. For the past six months, it's kind of been just me and Michael at home through all of this."
By "this", Finn is referring to leukemia.
By the looks of things, one would never guess what this family has been through. 13-year-old Michael loves football, enjoys playing Call of Duty, and gets a kick out of a YouTuber who calls himself Speirs The Amazing HD. He admits he's not a fan of school, and is not particularly looking forward to waking up early for 8th grade.
By all accounts, Michael is your typical, sometimes mouthy, teenager, yet his unflappable bravery dealing with leukemia is remarkable.
"I didn't take it too hard when the doctors told me," Michael said. "Really the only trouble I've had is with getting kidney stones."
Over Christmas break, Michael was looking pale and feeling a bit light headed. Being his older sister is anemic the family thought the same may be true for Michael. Debbie Finn took him to the doctor who agreed, and ordered some blood work.
"No rush, the doctor said," recalls Finn.
When Michael returned to school in January, he felt ill in gym class and visited the nurse. The nurse promptly called his mother, telling her not to wait for the lab's blood work results, but take him to the ER, which she did. Within an hour Finn had an answer as to why her son was so pale and weak. Michael was diagnosed with leukemia.
"I just cried and cried, and decided we would tell Michael after he was transferred to Morristown," Finn said. "Doctors don't like to keep secrets."
But Michael didn't panic when he was told his diagnosis. Calm, positive, and collected, like his mom, Michael is as the nurses put it, "an easy patient."
As trying as Michael's chemotherapy is, he grumbles most at the loud MRIs and the pain of having kidney stones, which is common in patients.
Debbie Finn confesses that she is just a tad more lenient with her son since his diagnosis.
"It's hard not to be," she says. "You kind of want to bend over backwards because of all he's been through."
The promising news is that Michael's leukemia is curable, although it will take time. He is anxious to get back to playing football, and build his muscle back. Currently Michael has a port in, and does not have the stamina to run.
For Finn, life goes on in its usual fashion. The UPS truck goes by, dinners are made, and emails are checked. But in every breath she takes one thought is constantly in the back of her mind.
"Appreciate your child's health. You never know what can happen," she said.