TYLER, Texas — An East Texas family is experiencing major hardships after their son was diagnosed with something no parent wants to hear - cancer. Three-year-old Kyrie is fighting his neuroblastoma after more than a month.
"We noticed that Kyrie was having a lot of bruising," Kyrie's mom Jakeyah Stewart said.
That's when Kyrie’s parents Devanta and Jakeyah took him to a local hospital, where the concerns grew. Kyrie was fatigued, sleeping longer, running a high fever ,and had dangerously low hemoglobin and platelet levels. The 3-year-old was flown to a hospital in Dallas.
"They did a CAT scan of his stomach, and they saw he had a very large mass on his left kidney," Kyrie's mom said.
The news was worse than they expected.
"The doctor came in and told us, it was a 90 percent chance it was cancer, and we did not expect to hear that all. We did not want to accept it. We asked the doctor if it could be anything else," she said.
This past month has been an emotional journey for the family. Those emotions heightened once Kyrie was diagnosed with neuroblastoma.
"Neuroblastoma is a cancer that arises from the sympathetic nerves and the primitive sympathetic nerves that are growing and developing as a baby is developing, and so those nerves get abnormal cells that cause them to eventually grow and become tumor cells, or cancer cells," Dr. Arhanti Sadanand said.
Sadanand is Kyrie’s doctor, and she says neuroblastoma is a common cancer for kids around the toddler age and sometimes in young adults. Sadanand said they see around 600 to 800 cases in the U.S.
"Watching his little body go through this has been heartbreaking, to say the least, and for people who have gone through this to tell us that there is a brighter side, helps us know that we're doing the right thing," Jakeyah Stewart said.
Kyrie emulates that brighter side with his personality that lights up the room. His parents say he has his bad days, but he always finds a way to show he's still fighting and keeping a good spirit. Devante and Jakeyah are staying positive and keeping the faith for "their little fighter."
"He was just one of the favorites at the daycare, at church," his mom said.
And thankfully there’s hope for Kyrie.
"The treatment plan for kids like Kyrie is going to include chemotherapy, surgery, radiation, bone marrow transplants, as well as immunotherapy. So, it's a lot of medicines and a lot of therapy that we throw at our patients, especially with their little bodies. It can be really hard," Sadanand said.
His parents are especially grateful for those helping them through this fight.
"We’re just thankful for all for everything that everybody has already done for us, all of the support, all of the love that they have shown, we are definitely amazed and surprised at how much the community has supported us during this time," his mom said.
Kyrie is still in the ICU and doctors are continuing to closely monitor his blood pressure. The goal is to have Kyrie home for the holidays. Those who would like to support this family by donating can click here.
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