Eddington -
Our new normal.
That's how the Bryant family of Eddington describes their life for the past six months.
Two-year old Camden is battling leukemia.
As Joy Hollowell shows us, this toddler isn't letting the "C" word slow him down.
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"Camden was born on September 30th, 2010," says Sheri Bryant, Camden's mother.
When he was 21 months old, Sheri and her husband, Dan, started noticing some changes.
"He was very lethargic and tired all of the time."
Sheri just thought it was another ear infection.
"And one day I was just feeling the back of his head, and his lymph nodes were huge, humongous. And then I went to change him and he had all these red dots on the back of his thighs. And it was very scary because I was thinking- oh, there's something seriously wrong."
The Bryants brought Camden to their pediatrician.
"When the doctor came in and looked at him, she just said- I'm concerned. She left the room, came back and said that we need to go to the oncologist."
A blood test confirmed their little boy had leukemia.
"I think both of us sort of got into battle mode," says Dan Bryant. "OK, he's got this, what do we do?"
Six months later, the Bryants say they're still in that mode.
"Obviously, emotions are there, lying just beneath and sometimes they come out," says Dan Bryant. "But for the most part, we just want to continue helping him fight and do what he needs to do to overcome this."
Right now, that means chemotherapy. Camden is in phase four of treatment. After that, he goes into what's known as maintenance.
"Next week, he has what they call a lumbar puncture," explains Dan Bryant. "They put three different types of chemotherapy medicines into his spin. You hate the chemo because you know what it's potentially doing to his body. It's hurting him. But at the same time, you know it's saving his life."
Camden's two older sisters says its tough to watch their brother in pain.
"It makes me feel sad," says 6 year old Sienna.
"It is sad," agrees 4 year old Carmen.
If all goes according to plan, Camden could be done with treatment before his fifth birthday. Dan and Sheri say every day with their son is a gift as well as a lesson in life.
"Having a little two year old show us that you don't have to be a big adult to be able to overcome things. I'm just so proud of him," says Dan Bryant.
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A fundraiser will be held this Saturday to help out the Bryant family.
It's sponsored by the Old Town Learning Center.
There's a spaghetti dinner and silent auction at Bangor High School.
It's from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Admission is by donation.
For more information, call Evelyn Niles at 249 - 8998.
Eddington Toddler Battling Leukemia
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