Wyatt the Superhero

Join Team Redemption Racers as we conquer running 200 miles across 3 states in support of Superhero Wyatt and his family.    They say that sometimes real superheroes live in the hearts of small children fighting big battles. Two year old Wyatt Kenton Ewing is a perfect example of a superhero. At 11 months old, Wyatt was diagnosed with a very rare form of cancer called Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma. This type of cancer is diagnosed in only about 350 people per year in the US. His tumor was located on his left nostril and his initial scans showed evidence of the cancer in one of the lymph nodes near his lower jaw as well. Thankfully, there was no other evidence of the cancer throughout the rest of his body.

Just 18 days before his first birthday, Wyatt was given his first dose of chemotherapy. He went through what can only be described as hell for the next 10 months as he took on his frontline battle with this cancer. He endured endless pokes, hideous infusions of toxic chemotherapy, countless trips to the ER with neutropenic fevers, more blood and platelet transfusions than one can count, and the most brutal radiation therapy that you could imagine. Wyatt spent more of his second year of life in the hospital, than he did out of it. For more than 9 months, Wyatt’s big brother Rhett (4 years old at that time) had to live with his grandparents while Wyatt and his parents moved to an apartment closerto John’s Hopkins and spent most of their time in the hospital there.

Despite the pain and suffering he went through, Wyatt was always smiling. He had (and still has) a way of lighting up a room and there is no one who has met him who does not love him. Wyatt finally finished his frontline chemotherapy/radiation protocol on April 20th, 2021 and he was officially deemed to be in remission when he had clear scans on May 6th, 2021. 

Although Wyatt’s initial battle ended, his war is nowhere near over. Wyatt’s entire immune system was wiped out by his chemotherapy, including all of the immunity he had been working on building through the first year of his life. His parents and big brother have had to make many sacrifices to ensure that their little boy is given the time and ability to heal after all he endured, especially given the pandemic that the world is facing. Wyatt’s entire body suffered many side effects as a result of his treatments. Even at almost 9 months post-treatment, he still faces daily challenges and there are many unknowns in his future. His cancer is one that has a scary and unfair rate of recurrence and he will have frequent scans for the next 5 years to monitor him for signs of this. There are also the fears of secondary cancers that can happen as a result of the chemotherapy and radiation that he received. Additionally, there is a chance that the bones of Wyatt’s face may not develop equally as a result of his radiation and he could need extensive reconstructive surgeries as he grows. There is no way to know whether his teeth (both baby and permanent) will come in normally, or even at all, and his left eye will need surgery at some point as it is guaranteed to develop a cataract as a result of his radiation. These are only a few examples of the challenges that this little boy will face in his future. 

Wyatt currently is happily living back at home with his parents and big brother again! He is a wild, happy, loving and adorable little two year old. He loves “Cap-in Merica,” dinosaurs, feeding his doggy Ruger, and dancing! The thing he loves most of all though is his big brother! Despite how wonderful Wyatt looks on the outside, his recent lab work has presented some questions and concerns for his family and doctors. They are all hoping and praying that these changes are only going to end up being due to his body recovering from all it’s been through, but he will be having his bone marrow evaluated to check for some of the secondary concerns that were mentioned above. His family is praying with all their hearts that this test will only rule out those horrible possibilities and they hope you will pray for the same for Wyatt. 

Wyatt is the strongest and most incredible two year old and we all know in our hearts that he will win this war one day. Until then, Wyatt has a team of warriors in his family, friends, and all of those who are supporting him that will help carry him, his parents, and his big brother through these battles. His parents are so incredibly grateful to each and every person who has offered them love, prayers, and support through this difficult time and hope that everyone will continue to pray for their little boy and all the children who are fighting these unfair battles. 

If you are interested in reading more details about Wyatt’s battle, and seeing some wonderful photos of this superhero taken by photographer and a treasured friend of the Ewing family, Karena Dixon, please visit Karena’s blog post titled “Wyatt the Superhero” at this link:  https://karenadixon.com/2021/07/23/wyatt-the-superhero/

From the bottom of our hearts thank you for supporting our Super HeroWyatt!

Team Redemption Racers
Erik
Alyssa
Lucka 
Erica 
Kim
Tara