It was a simple surgery to get tonsils and adenoids removed. Something 500,000 kids do every year. But after the surgery, four-year-old Levi Hyde was suddenly hit with a fever. Thinking it was a complication, his mom took him to the doctor. Several tests later, the diagnosis was leukemia. Cancer. His life went from freedom and fun to stuck in a bed at a hospital.
Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center in coordination with HOSA will host a blood drive in honor of Levi in the 830 parking lot on Thursday. A donor coach will be parked in the lot from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
“His cancer type is AML,” Levi’s mom, Tosha, said. “Not all kids are as fortunate as Levi has been. A lot of them need bone marrow transplants and sometimes more than one. I have learned that once his treatment is over, it is still a long road ahead of us with multiple check ups. It is always a possibility that it could come back, but by the grace of God I pray it doesn’t.”
Levi is now restricted by this disease that it’s preventing him from doing what any other kid does, having fun and messing around.
“He is a kind kid, and he loved to play,” junior Chloe Roach said. “But since he got cancer, he has been stuck in a hospital and has very little to no energy. It’s sad that he is only four, about to turn five, but won’t get to have a normal childhood because of this disease. It’s limiting him on what he can do.”
The discovery of Levi’s cancer left the whole family in shock and has changed their lifestyles. For Levi’s sister, freshman Hayvn Hyde, the journey has been a nightmare.
“It was one of the hardest nights of my life – the most shocking thing a teenage girl could hear,” Havyn said. “Some of the hardest moments so far have been not being able to see my best friend every morning, day and night. My family and I only get to see Levi one week per month, which has changed our everyday lives.”
The family is relieved though, because they were able to catch his cancer early.
“Most times when kids are diagnosed with leukemia, you don’t even know they have it until they are very sick,” Tosha said. “We were just lucky and caught it very early on by a complete accident. If it were not for Levi running a fever after his surgery, it could have taken another two months to even know he had it.”
Most students are planning to donate to the blood drive because they like to help others in need, like Levi.
“I like to help people in any way possible, whether that be through donating my blood or anything else,” senior Mustafa Abugeith said. “When I saw a poster talking about Levi Hyde, I knew I had to help. I feel that people with -O blood type should always pitch in wherever since we are the universal blood donor after all. I don’t really need to think about the benefits, since it would defeat the entire purpose of donating to save a life.”
The Hyde family knows the journey to recovery will be long, but they have hope that will make a full recovery. The donations on Thursday will be in honor of Levi and will go into the general blood supply for all patients in the Texas Gulf Coast Region.
“He has to complete four rounds of chemo which is up to 10 days each,” Tosha said. “Then we have to stay in the hospital four, sometimes up to six weeks for each round. Since Levi has been diagnosed, he has had several blood and platelets transfusions. The blood drive helps all of these kids to be able to receive the transfusions they need. We are very appreciative of all who donate.”
