By China Cassidy On Friday, Nov. 6, a brave six-year-old boy by the name of Jaydyn Leonard from Indian Wells, will make the trip to Phoenix Children’s Hospital (PCH) and ring the bell that signifies he is now cancer free, after a two-year battle with leukemia. Following a celebration at Hunt Park in Holbrook last Sunday to honor Jaydyn’s last treatment, his mom, Shar Leonard shared her relief for Jaydyn, what this experience has been like for her family, and Jaydyn’s bravery throughout his fight with leukemia. Jaydyn is described by his mom as very energetic and full of life. So when Jaydyn became weak and began complaining of leg aches just before his fourth birthday, the Leonard’s knew something was wrong and immediately sought medical care. This was the beginning of a month-long struggle to find an answer for what was ailing their son. Despite visits to several hospitals, multiple misdiagnosis, and being turned away by a surgeon who told the Leonard’s that Jaydyn “did not look sick enough to treat,” the family kept looking for answers to help their son. “We had gone to IHS (Indian Health Services), LCMC (Little Colorado Medical Center), we even were referred to an orthopedic surgeon in Flagstaff. He just kind of turned us away.” As time passed, Jaydyn only grew weaker and the family more desperate to find him the help they knew he needed. They continued taking Jaydyn to several health care facilities nearly every other day only to be sent home with a diagnosis of growing pains or juvenile arthritis and more pain relievers. Worried for their son who Shar said had become “lifeless” and could no longer walk on his left leg, Jaydyn’s parents made the decision to take him to a hospital out of the area. Shar explained, “We ended up going to a hospital further away from us. By that time, me and my husband were just tired and knew something was wrong, and we were emotional. The doctor there said, okay, I’m just going to run everything, every test under the sun.” After receiving Jaydyn’s results, the doctor told them that the blood tests had indicated that he had lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system, but could not be sure exactly what kind and that they would need to be flown to PCH (Phoenix Children’s Hospital) to have Jaydyn seen by an oncologist, immediately. Shaken and in disbelief upon being told that they were headed to see a doctor who specializes in cancer, the family went to the hospital in Phoenix, where more tests were done, and they discovered that everything Jaydyn had been experiencing was because he had leukemia. His leukemia was so advanced that the doctors started chemotherapy treatments that very same day. “The doctors there said that if we had waited another week, the leukemia would have taken over Jaydyn’s whole body,” explained Shar. At some point during the course of his treatment, Jaydyn had to have a surgery to repair a hole that had developed in his intestine as a result of his weakened immunity and the aggressive treatment, and later developed sepsis. Shar explained, “Where he had surgery it became infected and then he developed a hernia because the stitches where they stitched his muscle, they wouldn’t hold. There was a night when they said it’s going to go one way, or this way, there is no in between. Either the medicine we’re going to give him is going to help him, or your son’s body is going to start shutting down.” After the horrific experience, Shar said that although he did not quite understand his situation, Jaydyn continued showing inspirational bravery throughout his two-year battle. “He was a fighter through the whole thing,” said Shar. In a situation that would likely flip anyone’s world upside down, it took Jaydyn some time to grasp why he could not be at home with his family and why it was important to take his treatments each time but he eventually came to terms with the fact that it was something that he needed to do to get better. “Sometimes it was a fight to get him to take his oral chemo. It took him a long time to get used to them poking him and giving him his chemo and everything like that. We developed a way to break it down for him. We told him his muscles needed help. He called his chemo his muscle juice. He’s tough, every single time, he showed our family how to be strong, he showed me how to be strong. He pulled us closer to our faith. We aren’t really faith based or anything like that. But when your child is sick, you do anything, and he really opened the doors for us in that way,” offered Shar. With some reluctance because of the side effects, Jaydyn eventually began taking the treatments on his own. Shar began counting down the days with Jaydyn to when his last treatment would be, which excited him more as the date drew closer. “Every morning he would wake up and say, how many more days until my celebration.” When it got to that day, he woke up and said today is my celebration, today is my last day, the last time,” said Shar. Jaydyn had now gone from not wanting to take his treatments at all to rushing his parents through their meal on their way to the appointment so he could take his last one. “When he was done taking it, he smiled at the camera and said, ‘I’m all done.’ He was really excited to take it. That was the most enthusiastic I’ve seen him, taking those last pills,” shared Shar. Shar said that although Jaydyn began to accept his situation, he still missed home and the absence had also taken an impact on his three siblings. Jaydyn and his mom had to stay at PCH for six months during his treatments and the rest of the family returned to their home in Indian Wells. While he was receiving his treatment at PCH, the Leonard family struggled with being apart because she was the only one able to stay at the hospital with Jaydyn while his father continued to work and care for their other children at home. As a result of the time Shar spent away from home while caring for Jaydyn, she said that her daughter still has a difficult time leaving her side. “My daughter has huge separation issues. Everywhere I go, she goes. She even sleeps by me at night and holds on to my shirt for dear life, because she’s scared that I’m going to go somewhere again.” Shar says that even though her other two sons struggled with the absence, they have shown nothing but support and concern for Jayden and his wellbeing. After a long and exhausting battle full of uncertainties, Shar expressed what she felt when she was told that Jaydyn is now cancer-free. The emotional mother of four offered, “Oh my gosh, it’s really emotional to think about it. Hearing your child has leukemia, I literally started hyperventilating because I couldn’t breathe. Like no, this is not happening to me. To hear that and to think, okay, we need to focus on the finish line. Through Jaydyn’s whole journey, you’re thinking, is there ever going to be a finish line because it feels like every time we’re done with one hurdle, there’s an even bigger one that’s ahead of us. All those nights of promising my son, one more time, just let them do it one more time. Or, (saying) I’m sorry and apologizing over and over. “As a mother its hard. Because as a mother you’re supposed to protect your children, when your kids are sick or whatever, they come to you to make them feel better. And I guess as a mother for me it was hard because this was the one time my son was sick and I couldn’t fix it. So, it was really hard, and to finally be at the end of everything, it makes me feel really good because through the whole thing, I was there. Even though I couldn’t fix it, I was there telling him a little bit more, you can do it. So, in a way I guess, I started it with him, and I get to finish it with him.” Because of the pandemic, Jaydyn has also been limited to having only his mother with him when visiting his doctors to reach each milestone that brings him closer to the end of his treatment, like having his port removed or ringing the bell at PCH. Although the family wishes it were possible to be present to support Jayden during these important times, Shar expressed, “Overall we’re just glad that he’s here. A lot of families aren’t so lucky.”
