my story
By Brandon Klein
Editor’s Note: “My Story” is a first-person column OR a Q&A feature of a New Albany community member that centers on health. Have a story to share? Email bklein@cityscenemediagroup.com. Submissions should be no more than 1,000 words.
Behren’s Journey
New Albany couple navigates family life after child’s leukemia diagnosis
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Healthy New Albany: When and how did you realize there was an issue with Behren’s health? Monique Britton: We first noticed that he had a little bit of swelling in his neck and we kind of assumed that it was in his lymph nodes. A quick Google search told me that it was common in toddlers when they had colds and things like that. No reason for alarm. One of his teachers at daycare then sent us a note and said, hey, I’ve noticed the swelling in Behren’s neck. And it was in that moment that I thought, gosh, someone else is noticing, so maybe we should look into this a little bit more.
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Over the course of the next couple of weeks, we went through a variety of tests. But we just weren’t getting any answers. Then I could tell at a certain point with his pediatrician that the concern was increasing. He went down to Nationwide (Children’s Hospital) and had a surgical biopsy. And then they decided to keep him overnight. At the time it was for excessive swelling and drainage. And then the next morning we got the official diagnosis. HNA: What was his treatment like, and how did it impact your family? Bobby Britton: They started immediately. That next morning, when they called the room, they let us know the official diagnosis and that the plan was to begin treatment immediately. Basically, we weren’t leaving at that point, and I’ll never forget that. So, they started an aggressive introduction to chemo that next day. So it started pretty quick. MB: I can remember being in the waiting room when we were getting ready to go back for the surgery, and there was an oncologist in there telling me what the treatment was going to look like, and then she made a comment about daycare. He wouldn’t be able to go to daycare, and for
some reason that was the moment when I realized this was very real. She probably thought I was a little out of my mind since my son just got diagnosed with cancer, and why this would be a concern for me. But I think it was just like a moment realizing how serious this was, that life was really going to change for us. HNA: How has the New Albany community supported your family? MB: It’s been really, really amazing. I mean, Bobby and I said so many times, especially early on, I mean, the amount of support … (the) outpouring of love that we got from friends and the community and then also complete strangers, quite frankly, has been really amazing. For almost a year we had people bring us dinner twice a week, which was amazing, and a lot of those people we didn’t know. I mean, they were just strangers that were friends of friends and it was like mind blowing and so heartwarming just to see people be so kind. BB: For me personally, accepting help is difficult. I always want to pretend like I’m in total control and I’ve got this, but it was eye-opening to realize that, you know, accepting help is a part of this process, and in particular the food train, www.healthynewalbanymagazine.com
Photos courtesy of Bobby and Monique Britton
obby and Monique Britton’s son, 5-year-old Behren Britton, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 2018 when he was just 2. Bobby, a teacher and an assistant varsity football coach at New Albany High School, and Monique Britton, an attorney for Abercrombie & Fitch, sat down with Healthy New Albany to share how Behren’s diagnosis changed their lives.
