The Story of Hazel Colon

The full story direct from the Colon Family:

On July 8th 2020 Hazel Lynn Colon came into the world as a healthy, perfect baby girl. She was the perfect addition to the Colon family. Her family consisted of her mother and father Jade and Joshua and her two big sisters Abigail and Kassidy. Both Jade and Josh grew up in Hernando County. Jade worked as a dental assistant and Josh worked for a local pest control company. They lived a simple life, rent their home, and live paycheck to paycheck. When they were not working they all enjoyed spending time together as a family, going to the beach, taking trips to the zoo, or just playing at the park. A loving family living simple honest lives. Abigail and Kassidy were best friends from the beginning. They both attend school and were always excited about extra circular activities like gymnastics, cheerleading, and they loved to watch their dad Josh play in men’s league softball on week nights. Hazel spent her first year changing the hearts of our family she was smart, spicy, very independent, and the most loving of the girls. She met all her miles stones and seemed to be in perfect health. She stole the hearts of everyone she met. Hazel was refer to now as a covid baby much of her mother pregnancy and Hazels first year was spent in quarantine or social distancing.

In September 2021 Jade Hazel’s mother noticed a hard lump on the right side of her abdomen. When she pushed on the lump it didn’t seem to cause any pain but Jade did bring it to the attention of her pediatrician during her fifteen month checkup. On November 3, 2021 baby Hazel has an ultrasound completed to investigate the lump on her abdomen. The very same day life changed for the Colon family. Within an hour of the test baby Hazel’s doctor called Jade and told her that Hazel had several masses and one very large one was on her right kidney. She was instructed to take baby Hazel to All Children’s Hospital as soon as possible. Jade left work called Josh and they rushed to the emergency room in St. Petersburg Florida. That afternoon Hazel had to undergo additional blood tests, CT scan and another ultrasound they were admitted that night. Then the next morning November 4th a team of physicians sat down with Jade and Josh and told them the unimaginable. “Your baby has cancer.”
Baby Hazel was diagnosed with a Wilms tumor of the kidney – she needed surgery and in a matter of hours would have the surgery. The scans showed multiple tumors with the largest tumor being in her right kidney. The scans also showed that the tumors had spread to both of baby Hazels lungs. Then God guided the hands of a team of doctors and nurses baby Hazel underwent six hours of surgery to first place a port for the needed for chemotherapy and remove her right kidney. Josh and Jade waiting on eggshells to see their baby come back from surgery. When the nurses wheeled hazel back in to the room after surgery, that’s when reality set in. They were helpless to see their sweet baby with multiple drains, tubes, and wires with an incision that crossed her entire abdomen. Hazel also had to be on morphine and an epidural for the pain for the next 3 days. But the team successfully removed baby Hazels’ right kidney.
Pathology results revealed that Hazel’s cancer was stage 3 and stage 4. Not only did the cancer spread to both of her lungs the cancer was also in her lymph nodes. Due to the size of the original tumor Hazel would need to start Chemotherapy immediately and undergo radiation the lower right abdomen area first. After six weeks of initial treatment scans will be repeated to determine if the treatment is helping or if she’ll need radiation to her lungs and more aggressive chemotherapy. Baby Hazel just received her second treatment of chemo she will need at least 22+ weeks and she will start radiation the week after thanksgiving. And for every radiation treatment baby Hazel will need to be put to sleep.

Today life looks much different for the Colon family. Jade is no longer working, she spends her days taking care of baby Hazel and taking her to many doctor appointments and treatments. Josh has returned to work and the family is spending their free time teaching themselves and baby Hazel’s two big sisters all about cancer and how this will affect their lives. The Colon family are believers and followers of Jesus Christ and finding joy in the love they share with each other. Celebrating small success like when baby Hazel eats, laughs, dances and plays is one of the things they still have control of . They are asking for all the hope, strength, and prayers everyone can offer.