Levi Murphy is just a normal 10-year-old.
He loves sports, especially baseball. He spends his downtime collecting sports cards. (His Micah Parsons and Shohei Ohtani rookies are his most prized possessions). And he loves spending time with his friends.
But in many ways, Levi Murphy is really, really special.
He's not only living with type 1 diabetes, he's also a brain cancer survivor.
A Devastating Diagnosis
Levi's battle began at the age of 2 when he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, a condition that demands constant management and unwavering determination. But in April of 2022, something else just wasn't right.
"He was starting to complain of headaches. They were very often, and then the headaches led to vomiting, a little bit of vision issues, and just overall feeling overly exhausted and tired. He was just kind of not really acting like himself," says Lauren Murphy, Levi's mom.
"So I decided to take him to Children's Health Plano. I walked into the emergency room and asked for a CAT scan. I just wanted answers, and I wasn't leaving without an answer. So they did the CAT scan and let us know that they did find something and that they had already contacted the neuro team at (Children's) Dallas and that we were going to be transported there."
What they found was the harshest curveball yet: medulloblastoma. Brain cancer.
The Treatment
Within 72 hours, Levi underwent two six-hour brain surgeries in both his brain and spine.
"It was a lot of emotions all at once. Very fast paced," Lauren says.
Following his surgeries, Levi had a long road to recovery, with 30 rounds of proton radiation and seven months of inpatient chemotherapy, under the care and guidance of Dr. Daniel Bowers, Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist at Children’s Health.
"We know that medulloblastoma needs to be treated very aggressively if we're going to be able to cure that cancer," Dr. Bowers says. "I mean, it is really tough. The treatment of childhood brain tumors is very aggressive. A triple whammy. Right? They go through a big operation, a big surgery, and then they go through six weeks of radiation therapy. Then they go through six to eight months of intensive chemotherapy. It is really pushing things to the limit."
The emotional rollercoaster of the diagnosis and subsequent treatments was grueling for the Murphy family. The uncertainty and powerlessness that came with such a diagnosis left Lauren grappling with questions of how she could alleviate Levi's pain.
"As a parent, you want to protect your kids, and then you get a diagnosis like that, and you can't help but think...what can I do? How can I take this away? But the reality is you can't," Lauren says. "There's nothing you can do. You can just be there for them, hold them, help them and love them. But other than that there's not a whole lot you can do, so it's scary. It's a lot of emotions in one. Your world is moving really fast, but at the same time, it's going very slow."
Brain Cancer and Type 1
Of course, to make things more complicated, Levi wasn't just a young brain cancer patient. He was a young brain cancer patient with type 1 diabetes.
The challenges of managing diabetes during cancer treatment are often overlooked. They can significantly impact a patient's well-being. In Levi's unique case, where he already had diabetes before his diagnosis, the situation became even more complex.
"And so not that it's impossible, but it just adds an extra layer of complexity," Dr. Bowers says.
Steroids, commonly used post-surgery and during chemotherapy, posed a difficulty in controlling diabetes for Levi. However, the collaboration between Levi's healthcare team was crucial in ensuring a comprehensive approach. With constant communication and coordination, they were able to navigate the complexities and optimize Levi's diabetes control while managing his chemotherapy regimen effectively.
"So really it was a partnership between the different specialists working together that allowed us to take the best care of them that we could," Dr. Bowers says. "I think it also really made the treatment go as well as possible."
Going to the Dogs
If you asked Levi if there was any plus side to being treated at the hospital, he'd say it was meeting his new best friends: the therapy dogs at Children’s Health Dallas.
Levi made it a goal to meet every one of them during his time at Children's.
"My top three favorites were Canter, then Rosie, and then Badger!" Levi says.
Ringing the Bell
Finally, officially, after nearly a year of surgeries, radiation, and chemotherapy, Levi rang the bell at Children's in January of 2023. He was cancer-free!
"It was the most incredible feeling," Lauren Murphy says. "I'm getting emotional because you kinda think back on it and just everything that he had gone through and the strength that he had, the courage that he had, how we were able to overcome it as a family."
And you can bet Levi loved it.
"It was cool. It was exciting that I got to go back home," Levi says.
Levi is currently in physical therapy regaining his strength and looks forward to getting back to baseball, time with friends, and playing outside.
"We have so much respect for the entire staff at Children's Hospital because there's not one single person there that doesn't care about your kid," Lauren says. "There were multiple times where I would just be walking like a zombie in the hallway, and I'd have nurses like, how are you? Are you okay? Can I help you with something?
"They genuinely care about you as well as your kids. It's such a great team to work with, and we just have so much respect for them."
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