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SPRINGVILLE — Derek Fugal and his family are facing a frightening future: At the age of 2, he has been diagnosed with kidney cancer. Though he is barely a toddler, he must still undergo chemotherapy and surgery in order to have a chance.
Every week Derek and his family travel about an hour from Springville up to Primary Children's Medical Center for chemotherapy.
They say some days are better than others. After waking up from a nap Sunday, Derek's dad and brother help him piece a puzzle together. But most days he doesn't have the energy to play with his brother Tyler.
Derek used to have all kinds of energy. He was as playful as any small child. But about a month ago, Derek stopped being his playful self.
"He went to the doctor because he was throwing up and we thought he had an appendix rupture," said father Jay Fugal.
Tests showed Derek had Wilms' Tumor, a form of kidney cancer found almost exclusively in children.
"I couldn't imagine that," said mother Kara Fugal. "He was playing happily just a few days before."
He immediately went through his first round of chemotherapy and has continued treatment once every week.
It's been going well. Derek's father said that he has responded to the chemotherapy so readily that the tumor has started to shrink. He said doctors decided to continue that treatment to shrink it as much as possible before attempting an operation.
Thursday, Derek will get CT scans to see if he's ready for surgery.
"Hopefully in a week and a half we'll take that thing out of there," Jay said.
However, even after surgery, the treatments will continue. If all goes as planned, Derek will have a few weeks of radiation and five months of chemotherapy.
The Fugals hope they'll be done with at least the surgery before they make another hospital visi, this time for Kara. She's eight months pregnant.
Still, even with their hands full, they have plenty of friends willing to pitch in.
"The biggest thing is to have a support group," Jay said.
They've received dozens of messages from people who understand. Each letter reminds the Fugals that they'll get through it, no matter what.
And soon, Tyler will get his favorite playmate back.
