Ezra Blue Duckwall …
full of sunshine and love
Ezra Blue is a three-year-old boy who holds the sun in his heart and shares it with others through his smile.
In December 2020, Ezra started getting sick on a weekly basis. Over the next few months, Ezra’s health quickly declined. By March, he was throwing up every single day, about five times a day. His balance and eyesight worsened to the point that he was falling over all the time, and his eyes crossed inward despite his glasses. His previous endoscopy showed that there was nothing wrong with his gastrointestinal tract.
At this point his mother, Hannah, began searching for answers outside of the doctor’s office. Being a nursing student, she brought the issue up to one of her teachers, and that teacher suggested she have his brain checked out.
After asking for an MRI and being denied multiple times, Ezra’s Grandmother, Deevonna, decided to just take him into the hospital. There, the doctor looked at Ezra and told them they needed to take him to Doernbecher Children’s Hospital that night. So the family packed their bags and drove to Portland.
The doctors at Doernbecher did an MRI at about 11:30 pm that night, and none of them were prepared for what they found. A tumor, the size of an egg, was found in Ezra’s brain. Two days later, Dr. Collins, the neurosurgeon, opened up the back of Ezra’s head and removed as much of the tumor as she could. She sent a biopsy to the lab so that they could figure out whether the tumor was cancerous or not. Unfortunately, Dr. Collins was unable to remove all of the growth from Ezra’s brain and also discovered that it had dropped down into his spinal cord.
On April 8th, 2021, Ezra was diagnosed with Medulloblastoma; a particularly aggressive and malignant cancer. Because of the spread to his spinal cord, Ezra’s case was labeled “high-risk”. The family stayed in the hospital for 31 days. During those thirty one days, Ezra had five surgeries and continually puzzled the doctors because his case was so confusing. During his hospitalization, he lost his ability to walk, swallow, move his left hand, talk, and empty his bladder. Eventually, he healed from the surgeries and was able to go home for a few days before readmitting to begin chemotherapy.
Currently, Ezra is halfway through his scheduled chemotherapy cycles. This requires many trips to Portland and depending on his blood counts, additional days spent in the hospital.
Soon they will do another MRI and a lumbar puncture to assess whether the cancer is responding to the treatment or not. He is slowly regaining his ability to walk and stand up. He is talking more than he ever has. His left hand is almost back to normal. He is still relearning how to use the toilet but can now empty his bladder without assistance. His strength is astounding.
Ezra loves to sing and dance. He frequently kisses his loved ones. He insists on holding his mom’s hand until he falls asleep. His heart is so big.