Blw77
Prayer Warrior
Please read the entire post and pray for this child and his family from ###.
Not an easy post to start.
…This 9-year-old is on his last few days.
I talked with ###’s dad last night. He asked if I’d write something to “highlight his son’s fierce fight”, and, more important he said, deeply thank ### for its endless support.
“This town loves its people,” ### said, from a hospital hallway. “If you drive up there now, you’ll see the whole town is painted red. Every spirit rock painted red. Red lights on front porches. We’ve heard from everyone. We've never asked for anything but prayers and our community has consistently delivered.”
It's quite a story. One ### wanted to tell.
His son’s unexpected journey started in August of 2016. At the time, he was a second grader at ### in ###. He played football, baseball, wrestling and was in MMA (mixed martial arts). By all accounts, an effortless athlete and faithful kid.
But one Friday after football practice he seemed tired. His dad noticed. That Saturday, ### went to wrestling practice and spent the night at his friend’s house. Sunday he slept all day.
“I knew then something was wrong,” ### said. “Exhaustion wasn’t my son.”
He went to his local doctor that Monday. They immediately rushed him to ###.
“They said he had no blood count,” ### said. “They couldn’t get it to register. He had no platelets. Doctors had no idea how he was practicing football and wrestling days earlier.”
He was diagnosed with aplastic anemia, a rare blood disease.
"We'd never heard of it," said ###. "No one we know has."
### tried immunotherapy for almost a year, but it wasn't enough and led to a bone marrow transplant. The transplant didn't go so well. ###’s cells developed at such a high rate – he grew more T-cells in three days than most do in three weeks – they got in his lungs and skin.
### says it was a horrible situation, that his son's skin was simply peeling off. Once doctors got that under control, he was diagnosed with stage four Graft-Versus-Host-Disease (GVHD), which means his skin started peeling off from the inside. After that, the GVHD spread to his liver.
At this point ### says ### was given two choices: “Stay comfortable.” Or, “Undergo chemo.”
### chose to fight.
Lots of uphill battle since then. Sadly, this past Monday doctors told ###, his wife ### and 12-year-old sister ### that ### had contracted a bacteria and it was a timeline. Could be hours, maybe days.
“He’s still lucid,” ### said. “He’s still fighting. We know it’s soon, but we’re beyond proud of him.”
### paused on the phone.
“Throughout this process I said I wouldn’t leave his side… and I haven’t,” he said. “He has taught his mother and I more in his nine years of life than our entire lives combined. He has that impact on everyone who ever meets him. He is a blessing.”
Not an easy post to start. Even harder to end.
Huge hug through these words to the ### family this morning and beyond.
#MollysKids
Not an easy post to start.
…This 9-year-old is on his last few days.
I talked with ###’s dad last night. He asked if I’d write something to “highlight his son’s fierce fight”, and, more important he said, deeply thank ### for its endless support.
“This town loves its people,” ### said, from a hospital hallway. “If you drive up there now, you’ll see the whole town is painted red. Every spirit rock painted red. Red lights on front porches. We’ve heard from everyone. We've never asked for anything but prayers and our community has consistently delivered.”
It's quite a story. One ### wanted to tell.
His son’s unexpected journey started in August of 2016. At the time, he was a second grader at ### in ###. He played football, baseball, wrestling and was in MMA (mixed martial arts). By all accounts, an effortless athlete and faithful kid.
But one Friday after football practice he seemed tired. His dad noticed. That Saturday, ### went to wrestling practice and spent the night at his friend’s house. Sunday he slept all day.
“I knew then something was wrong,” ### said. “Exhaustion wasn’t my son.”
He went to his local doctor that Monday. They immediately rushed him to ###.
“They said he had no blood count,” ### said. “They couldn’t get it to register. He had no platelets. Doctors had no idea how he was practicing football and wrestling days earlier.”
He was diagnosed with aplastic anemia, a rare blood disease.
"We'd never heard of it," said ###. "No one we know has."
### tried immunotherapy for almost a year, but it wasn't enough and led to a bone marrow transplant. The transplant didn't go so well. ###’s cells developed at such a high rate – he grew more T-cells in three days than most do in three weeks – they got in his lungs and skin.
### says it was a horrible situation, that his son's skin was simply peeling off. Once doctors got that under control, he was diagnosed with stage four Graft-Versus-Host-Disease (GVHD), which means his skin started peeling off from the inside. After that, the GVHD spread to his liver.
At this point ### says ### was given two choices: “Stay comfortable.” Or, “Undergo chemo.”
### chose to fight.
Lots of uphill battle since then. Sadly, this past Monday doctors told ###, his wife ### and 12-year-old sister ### that ### had contracted a bacteria and it was a timeline. Could be hours, maybe days.
“He’s still lucid,” ### said. “He’s still fighting. We know it’s soon, but we’re beyond proud of him.”
### paused on the phone.
“Throughout this process I said I wouldn’t leave his side… and I haven’t,” he said. “He has taught his mother and I more in his nine years of life than our entire lives combined. He has that impact on everyone who ever meets him. He is a blessing.”
Not an easy post to start. Even harder to end.
Huge hug through these words to the ### family this morning and beyond.
#MollysKids
