Derek Madsen from Sacramento, California was 10-year-old when he was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a rare form of cancer that mostly affects children. It was in summer 2005, when while rest of the children his age were preparing for summer camp, Derek and his mom, Cindy French were preparing to battle the deadly disease. The treatment started immediately.
Photographer Renée C. Byer wanted to chronicle this journey and the family said, “Yes”. Her Pulitzer Prize-winning series of sensitive and heart touching images are powerful and they capture an incredible range of emotions. After going through the pictures you might be inspired to support research to help kids like Derek.
In this picture Cindy took Derek for a spin down the hall of the UC Davis Medical Centre, while waiting for Derek’s bone marrow to be tested to see if he is eligible for a transplant. Little did Cindy and Derek realize, this much needed distraction “joy ride” was just the beginning of an emotional roller coaster ride that will change their lives forever.
Bone marrow extraction, an excruciatingly painful process, caused Derek to scream and writhe in pain. After he woke up from the operation, Cindy tried to comfort him as much as possible. It would have been very tough to see him suffer!
Derek received a gentle head massage from his mother. Cindy gave up her beauty salon, so that she could be there for Derek full-time. The cancer has spread to his organs and bones and he needed round-the-clock care. Cindy said “I’m going to do whatever it takes to make him happy, to see him smile.”
Derek required an operation to remove a tumor from his abdomen. Cindy gave her son a comforting and reassuring hug in preparation for the surgery. What a battle for the young boy at an age most other kids are busy playing with their friends!
In this picture, Derek is seen playing with his brother Micah and his friend RJ at a hotel in Tahoe, after they were invited to meet Chris Webber, a famous basketball player. Cindy had written to the NBA star and he agreed to meet them. It was the first time that Derek had the opportunity to spend time in a real hotel…These were the rare happy moments in the young child’s life…carefree and playing!
Derek hated hospitals, and he also loved to keep his mom on tenterhooks by performing scary balancing acts. Cindy had tough time getting him to come down and take him into the building, where he would be prepared for an operation.
An anxious Cindy watched the hospital staff prepare her son for the operation. She was allowed to be with Derek while they administered anaesthesia, but had to leave before the operation began.
Brother Micah held Derek’s hands while Derek was being prepared for radiation treatment. Micah was there to support his little brother and was a pillar of strength. He gave Derek a lot of courage in his fight against the disease.
Derek couldn’t take it any longer and broke down… In the examination room of the hospital, Cindy and Dr. William Hall tried to persuade him to accept more treatment to reduce the tumour and relieve his pain. A desperate Cindy begged with him, “Derek, you might not make it if you don’t do this.” Derek cried heartbreakingly and said: “I don’t care!…Take me home… I’m done, Mom! Are you listening to me? I’m done!”
Cindy in a desperate bid to convince Derek made a deal — He could sit on her lap and drive the car. In return, he agreed to undergo further treatment. A few hours after this photo was taken, one of the hospital staff called Cindy and gave her a heartbreaking news… That Derek did not have much of a time to live.
The spreading of cancer was aggressive! — Derek got a black eye, from the tumor in his head. The hanging on the wall is a special note from the waiters at his favourite restaurant to cheer him up.
Cindy and her best friend Kelly Whysong console each other, as a progressively weaker Derek sleeps, he doesn’t have much time left… Cindy wrote him a letter telling him how proud she was of him, putting up such a brave fight! She read the letter to him over and over again, in a desperate hope that he will understand…
On April 28, 2006, Cindy picked out the clothes that Derek would wear at his funeral. On her T-Shirt, she was wearing smiley stickers the hospital staff had given her.
Derek used every bit of his failing strength to take a few steps. The tumour in his stomach made it so bloated that his pants no longer fit, he grimaced in pain trying to put on his pants. Another tumour in his head had affected his eyesight and balance.
At a benefit event, Derek gave his mother a loving kiss. By this time he was too weak to walk. And had to be taken around in a wheelchair.
When this photo was taken on May 8, 2006. Cindy was spending nearly 24 hours a day at Derek’s side. Derek was on very strong medication and he could hardly speak. He had become completely weak with no strength left. Cindy also was completely exhausted, but insisted on being next to Derek every moment remaining.
Cindy fights back tears as she cleaned Derek’s catheter. On May 10, 2006, the time had finally come. A little while later, Derek’s caregiver Sue Kirkpatrick gave the eleven-year-old boy a sedative that allowed him to die peacefully in his sleep. Cindy could seek comfort from the fact she had done everything humanly possible to help her son fight the deadly disease.
Cindy said her final farewell to her loving son Derek. She kissed him softly and sang his favourite song as he left his suffering and pain wracked physical body.
At the funeral on May 19, 2006 in Mount Vernon Park, Cindy lead the way, while her elder son Micah and some of Derek’s friends carried the coffin… At his graveside, Cindy said these words, laying to rest her beloved son who decided to depart all too early: “I will forever carry your memory in my heart and remind others to give their time, energy and support to other families just like ours.”
Cindy and her family went through incredibly harrowing time, but these pictures captured in a touching manner, how bravely Derek fought for his life. They also in a heartwarming way show that even in our darkest of times, it is still possible to find fleeting moments of happiness. And it’s these memories that carry us through and change us forever. Derek’s journey is a reminder for all of us about how precious this human life is and how we have to treasure it by choosing a righteous, kind and fruitful path to live.
