One Mom's Facebook Post Helps Another Mom Spot Son's Leukemia

ELK GROVE (CBS13) — A mother's gut instinct and a Facebook post led to an early diagnosis for her son.

Fritz, 3, was diagnosed with leukemia in October, but if it wasn't for a total stranger's post on social media, he may not be where he is today.

The two mothers are bonded through a Facebook post that has forever changed their lives. It was a post about little Reese and her battle with leukemia that tipped off Anna Stark.

Fritz and 7-year-old Reese are so connected now, it almost feels like they were meant to go on this journey together.

Reese was diagnosed with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia back in October. Her mom took to Facebook, sharing Reese's symptoms as a way to inform others.

"It was supposed to be an informative post. Our thought was, in my heart if it could help one person then it was worth putting it out there," said Lisa Baker.

And that one person was Stark. In a city about 15 miles away, she happened to come across the post shared by one of her Facebook friends.

"It was like a light went off lit the fire of me reading through what she had posted about their world changing with Reese being diagnosed and listing the symptoms and when I read the symptoms I said this is exactly what my little guy has," she said.

She immediately took Fritz to get checked for leukemia, only to find out he had the same cancer.

"My intuition said this is something bigger than a fever and him being sick," she said.

The two families eventually crossed paths during testing at the hospital.

"To meet someone who is walking the same road as you I thought maybe it is something that can be shared, learned from each other support each other," she said.

And Reese and fritz were instantly bonded.

It's a heart-wrenching time that the parents have managed to make fun for their kids, all with high hopes that the kids will beat cancer and have a lifelong friend in each other.

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• Elk Grove