Testimonies

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Levi

In February 2005 our 10-year old Grandson, Levi, was diagnosed with a brain tumor. He was taken by ambulance from Hammond, LA to the Tulane Pediatric Center in New Orleans, Louisiana when the MRI showed a tumor that was bleeding.

When he arrived at Tulane he was immediately started on Steroids to help the brain swelling to subside. After a short while the doctors came and told us that an operation to remove the Tumor was immediately needed because the Steroids were not helping the swelling to subside.

You can imagine the thoughts that were going through the heads of the family members. I don't know how, but word of Levi's condition immediately spread all the way from Maryland to California. Prayer was going up on a continual basis. The waiting room of the hospital was standing room only. People were praying that the Doctors would be able to completely remove the tumor. The Doctor who was to operate on Levi was head of the Surgeons at Tulane University Hospital but this was not enough. We knew that we needed God to intervene and give the doctors the knowledge they needed. After two hours the Surgeons came out and told us that the operation was a success and as far as he was concerned he had completely removed the tumor. Thank God was our reply.

When they brought Levi out of the recovery room headed for the Pediatric ICU we were able to see him as they rolled him down the hall. We ran to be by his side and his eyes were open. We asked him if he knew us. His answer was "you are Maw Maw and Paw Paw". These were the sweetest words we had heard all day.

The next day another MRI was done to see if any of the tumor remained. The Doctors came into the room with big grins on their faces-there was no sign of any remaining tumor. The prognosis was good. God had answered our prayers!!

Test on the removed tumor showed that it was a Medullablastoma, a childhood malignant tumor. This news was not good. Our world was shattered! More test were made to see if the cancer had spread. This type of cancer travels down the spinal chord to other parts of the body. Results of these other test were negative.

When Levi found out that the tumor was malignant he understood that this was the bad kind of tumor. Levi made a statement that warmed our hearts-"dad, I'm not afraid to die". You see Levi had accepted the Lord as his Savior at the tender age of 8.

The doctors at Tulane children's hospital developed a treatment plan. The plan called for radiation to the infected area of the brain and then chemo treatments that were to last a year. The doctors warned us that these treatments could have side effects. We never realized the truth of this statement.

My daughter and Son-in-law drove Levi to Tulane Children's hospital five days a week for six weeks for the radiation treatment. Later it was once a week for Chemo treatments and then sometimes more than once a week for a short stay in the hospital for a chemo treatment. Levi was always the optimist, and the joker. He told his dad that he wanted to know everything the doctors said so he would know what to pray for. And then on the lighter side, Levi put his "bubba" teeth in his mouth and when he walked in he told the nurses, "Look what the radiation has done to my teeth". On another occasion he walked in with his Groucho Mark nose and glasses on.

About the time of Thanksgiving in 2005, the family came up to our house for a short visit. We noticed that Levi didn't use his left arm and hand as much as before. I asked him about it and he said that he was just right-handed. We began to realize that something was taking place with his physical condition. We thought the side affects from his treatments were beginning to take place.

On Christmas Day 2005, my wife and I had just gotten out of Church service and were heading over to the Fellowship Hall for a fellowship meal with the Church members. One of our neighbors came and told us that he had received an urgent telephone call and that Levi had experienced a seizure. We immediately traveled to Baton Rouge and Our Lady of the Lake Pediatric ICU where Levi had been taken. The news was not good. The doctors said Levi was experiencing Demyelination, a term used for a loss of myelin, a substance in the white matter that insulates nerve endings. This condition was probably caused by the extensive radiation and chemo treatments that he had received. The doctors said that it could reverse itself, he could remain the same, or it could get worse.

To help his breathing, a trachea tube was placed in his throat. To assist his feeding, a feeding tube was placed in his stomach.

My daughter and son-in-law wanted Levi to be in a home environment instead of the hospital. After about three weeks in PICU, they took Levi home. Another seizure occurred in early January 2006. He was rushed to the PICU at Our Lady of the Lake Hospital in Baton Rouge. Another MRI was taken and we were not prepared for the news-the cancer had returned and had spread throughout his brain. The doctors said Levi has just a short time to live.

Apparently Levi realized earlier that he was going to die. He told his mother -"I can hardly wait to get to Heaven". Exactly one year to the day, as family members gathered around his bed and his mother holding him and quoting the 23rd Psalm into his ear, Levi realized his dream of seeing Heaven. The Angels quietly came and carried his soul into Paradise. He was buried on Valentines Day 2006.

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