By Brielle Saggesse
“I want to go on a helicopter ride.”
These were the words of 3-year-old Drake Williams when his family arrived in Florida for spring vacation last year. While his siblings were excited for the pool or the beach, Drake had his sights set a little higher. Little did he know, a helicopter ride is exactly what he would get.
For a few weeks he had been battling what appeared to be a nasty virus. Doctors tossed around diagnoses from strep throat to Toxic Synovitisto. But it wasn’t until April 1 when they finally hit the mark. Drake was diagnosed with leukemia.
“It started out as small talk, but then everyone became increasingly concerned,” Drake’s mother Abby Williams wrote on Facebook. “His blood tests were back, and the nurse kept saying, ‘We have a really sick child’ in a raised voice.”
His specific condition, Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, results from an overproduction of immature white blood cells. While a healthy child would have a white blood cell count in the 4,500 to 11,000 range, Drake’s registered at 150,000.
With the intensity of his count in addition to his young age, he was considered in the very-high-risk group for ALL and in need of three and one half years of treatment.
The next step was to transport Drake to a children’s hospital in Pensacola where his needs could be better met. But because a 90-minute car ride was not an option, an ambulance couldn’t suffice. In an ironic twist, Drake was going to get his wish.
“When they said the helicopter was there they thought he would be frightened but it was so comforting to tell him, ‘Remember when you said you wanted to go on a helicopter ride? The helicopter is here.’’”
But still needing to fully support Drake’s condition, the family had a new destination: Riley Children’s Hospital. A jet flew Drake and his mother back home to Indianapolis where he could receive treatment and start the road to recovery. Months after his diagnosis, Drake and his family said they are extremely thankful for every bit of support they have received, but above all are thankful for Riley.
“We knew Riley was the best and we felt comforted by that. We would do anything for Riley Hospital because our son wouldn’t have the treatment he has without them,” Abby said. “My oldest son asked, ‘What would we do if we didn’t live close to Riley?’ and I said, ‘We’d move closer.’”
Along with the help of the hospital, the Williams family said they have seen an outpouring of support from others around them. When Drake was diagnosed, Abby created the Facebook page, “Diary of a Sturdy Kid” to record his journey and keep loved ones updated on his treatments. Because of this page, she said so many have come behind the family to do whatever might help this process. This group is lovingly referred to as the “Drake Dynasty,” and they even created t-shirts with the name to show their support.
From their position, the Williams family urges others to channel their efforts into giving back to Riley Children’s Hospital and to leukemia research.
As long standing supporters of the Traders Point Hunt Club, the family said they were looking forward to the Traders Point Hunt Charity Horse Show which has donated its profits to Riley for the past 10 years. This year, Drake was to be the face of the show. Because of recent weather-related issues, the show was cancelled but other opportunities like it still exist to help the cause.
“Life doesn’t always throw you a straight ball,” Abby said. “This is a curve we weren’t expecting, but we’re trying to make life as normal as possible and we couldn’t do that without the support we have.”
