NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A little boy has spent far too much of his life in the hospital. He's been tough, battling some very serious things. His family wanted to share an especially important day.
Four kids keep you busy. Mom and dad Kirstin and Tomas Czernek can confirm.
"Do we have four, not four hundred?" Kirstin laughed. "We are just a wild family brought together. We're blessed with Mia and Kai through adoption through foster care. Aria is our biological child and has down syndrome which made us pursue adopting Luca who also has down syndrome"
Luca is almost two. In those two years, hospitals have become so very familiar to the Czerneks.
Luca was born with severe pulmonary hypertension and was in a NICU for three months. That wasn't the end of the troubles he'd face in his young life.
"When Luca was turning just one year old, we found out he had AML leukemia," Kirstin said.
That was in January. Treatments began at TriStar Centennial Children's Hospital.
"The typical flow has been in for a month, out for a week, and you repeat that six times," Kirstin said.
That has not been easy for siblings who want to see their little brother.
"Those weeks can be really, really long where they don't get to see him," Kirstin nodded.
"He's done so well, responded so well to treatment, and he's just become the mayor of the floor," Tomas added.
The family stood up and gathered their things. It was time for a bell ringing ceremony.
A group of hospital staff cheered and sang as the family walked down a hallway.
"You're off therapy!"
"Luca is cancer free and he's doing so well, and he'll be home for good," Kirstin said. "We'll have monthly labs where he'll just check in, but he's doing awesome, and we don't expect anything less. We're excited to experience life with him without having this battle, see him grow up to be big and strong, be a toddler and play and just have normalcy, that's what we're all looking forward to."
Do you have more a positive, good news story? You can email me at forrest.sanders@newschannel5.com.
It's migratory season for billions of animals across the United States. That means millions of birds and butterflies will take a rest stop in Tennessee and Kentucky as they move south for winter. Tennessee state parks are working to create vital habitat for the migrating monarchs. You may be able to follow their lead around your home to help reverse a declining monarch population.
- Lelan Statom
