INDIANAPOLIS -- When the Light the Night walk kicks off in Military Park on October 7, an 8-year-old cancer patient will be leading the way. Don’t let the word “cancer” fool you. Shelby Howard looks anything but “sick.”
He’s full of energy and loves to play basketball and football. In fact, sometimes after chemotherapy, he goes straight to the football field. Howard’s treatment has been long – more than three years running. However, his Bargersville family has been there every step of the way.
Kelly and Shelby Howard, Shelby’s mom and dad, describe first noticing he was sick and knowing they needed to get help.
“We had taken him to the doctor several times and they were like 'Oh it's just the flu' and finally the family doctor said ‘I want to run a full blood test’,” said Shelby.
“When she called within hours, she told me, ‘It's Leukemia,’ and I actually had to ask her, ‘What does that mean? What is that?,’ And she said it was blood cancer,” said Kelly.
The diagnosis of B Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia changed the course of their family’s life.
“Your whole entire world shattered. I stared at him and just thought, 'His whole world is going to change and our family's whole world is going to change'. It was devastating,” said Kelly.
However, the fall of 2017 brings light at the end of the tunnel: the end of treatment.
They’ll celebrate Shelby’s accomplishments at the Light the Night walk. It’s put on by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and acts as a fundraiser for cancer research, advocacy and patient services.
RTV6 is a proud media sponsor of Light the Night. You can catch our team walking along the canal on October 7, charging toward a cure.
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