At two years old, Christian Vinci was always trying to keep up. The youngest among his cousins, he was active, adventurous and happiest playing alongside his older brother, Patrick. Summer was meant for playing, and a few bruises on Christian’s legs were nothing out of the ordinary.
Until Christian stopped wanting to play.
A sickness lingered. Low-grade fevers continued. One illness seemed to follow another. Adam and Carolyn Vinci tried to find an explanation, but their energetic little boy simply wasn’t himself.
“We knew something was very wrong,” Carolyn said. “It was peak summer activities, and he didn’t want to do anything.”
Soon, the Vincis were in an emergency room hearing a word they never expected to be associated with their two-year-old son: leukemia.
“It was like an out-of-body experience,” Carolyn said. “The pain is insurmountable.”
Life changed instantly.
At home, Adam and Carolyn had a four-year-old and a newborn just two weeks old. In the hospital, Christian was undergoing tests and procedures he couldn’t understand. Through it all, he looked to his parents.
“He’s looking at us for strength,” Carolyn said. “You have to muster up anything to just keep marching ahead.”
For Adam, watching his son face cancer was unlike anything he had experienced.
“When it’s your child, you’d do anything to swap places with him,” he said.
Days became a series of hospital visits, shift changes and nights spent apart. Patrick began asking Carolyn the same question each morning: “Where am I going today?”
The simple question broke her heart.
“I don’t think people realize how amazing it is to be under one roof,” Carolyn said.
During treatment at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Christian’s care team introduced the family to a clinical trial.
At first, Adam and Carolyn were scared of the unknown. But with guidance from Christian’s care team, they began to understand how research had shaped the treatments available to their son — and how his experience could help children in the future.
Through the clinical trial, Christian received an additional round of immunotherapy using a small portable infusion pump and a backpack. Rather than spending another month confined to a hospital room, he was able to continue treatment from home—running around the house, playing with his brother and doing the things he loved while the medication quietly infused in the background.
Slowly, the Vincis began to see their adventurous little boy again.
“He was feeling so good. His hair was growing back,” Carolyn said. “We were chasing him, trying to hold his backpack.”
Christian could play with Patrick. He could rebuild his strength. The Vinci family could be together under one roof.
“His spirits were up,” Carolyn said. “Being able to play really helped with treatment.”
For Adam and Carolyn, research gave their family something invaluable: more time together.
“Knowing that Christian will help other kids is rewarding,” Carolyn said. “We’re so lucky that we can be part of this team and clinical trial so that we can add to research.”
Through the Courage of Carly Fund, pediatric cancer research at Roswell Park continues to create more possibilities for children like Christian — and more moments at home, simply being kids.