Cancer Warrior Spotlight: Major
From Bryce and Paige Williams, the proud parents of Major Williams.
Major had a quite traumatic birth which gave him some brain bleeding that would later turn into cysts in his brain. We did not find out about the cysts until much later. Major was a unique child; he would get frustrated with delayed speech and some difficulty with motor skills. We had him seen with behavior specialists that diagnosed with autism and childhood apraxia. Apraxia is basically a delay for pretty much every function. They would later lift the diagnosis of autism because his motor skills began to improve with the constant therapy.
One year after he was born, we had a litter of Goldendoodle puppies in our backyard. We kept one and named him Willie. God sent Willie to be Major’s dog, his companion, and best friend through all of the troubles that Major was about to endure. Major would keep having these moments of frustration, as a young toddler and boy, Willie would recognize this anxiety and run to Major’s side. Major would hug on him, love on him, and Willie knew not to leave his side. Willie had no training of any sort; he was just the best possible thing for Major in his time of need.
When Major was just about to turn 7, he began to have bad excruciating headaches that came with “trash can” smells and nausea. We went from doctor to doctor only to have them tell us that our 6-year-old was having migraines, sinus troubles (we do live in West Texas), or just needed to drink more water. All the while, the headaches were getting more and more intense.
Throughout all the doctor appointments, Willie was there.
Then we went for the MRI where they found the cysts in his brain. We went in to see about the cysts and they found an aneurysm right in the middle of his brain. WOW! So, we through the family in the car, rented a house, and headed Houston for the future that we did not have answers to. We knew nothing, all his issues were medically above our head. We really had a hard time even telling our family what was wrong with him. Major had multiple cystic formations with a giant fusiform aneurysm in the middle cerebral artery. Basically, he had an artery that was blown up like a very large balloon with way too much pressure right in the middle of his brain. This aneurysm was leaking tiny amount of blood into his brain which was causing pressure which was leading to the headaches, smells, and vomiting.
Remember all those frustrating fits that he was having that we found different behavioral diagnoses for? Yeah, those were strokes, which left dead brain matter which later filled with cerebral spinal fluid, the 26 cysts. That is 26 cysts for 26 strokes.
We had no idea. We felt terrible. How could we have missed these strokes? Our human brains never caught Major’s strokes. But Willie did. His deep concern and compassion to Major knew when he was needed.
His parents did not know why he was having such a hard time remembering things, such poor motor skill function, and such a hard time communicating. But ole Willie Dog knew. He knew when to comfort my young boy, and he knew when to be there for him. He let Major squeeze him, pull his hair during the hard times, pet him, love on him, use him as a pillow, bury his face into Willie’s soft golden hair, and even lick Major when it was time for Major to come back to the world during a now discovered stroke.
We came back from Houston from the brain surgery to find Willie and the rest of our house in Midland still intact. Major had a swollen and shaved head, a very sore body, he was losing patches of hair from the extreme stress, and an extremely tired brain. Willie was there to greet him and again let him love on him. This time the anger had left Major, and the sadness began to set in. He was a 7-year-old boy that just wanted to go outside, play sports, and enjoy the warm weather with his friends.
2018 would a year we would all remember.
Major began to recover; he even went back to school in March 2019. He was on the road to recovery, and he was doing quite well. Motor skills still like a newborn baby colt, and headaches still around (they were mild).
But now, it was Willie’s turn to be sick. Willie had been THE constant friend in Major’s life to this point. It was Major’s turn to be there for Willie dog.
Willie died of a body eaten up with cancer in April 2019.
Major was heartbroken. He got stuffed animals from Build-A-Bear and named them all Willie. He still has them, and they sleep with him every night. We have Willie 1, Willie 2, Willie 3, Willie 4, and countless more than just get named Willie.
Fast-forward to 2021 (I think we all could just skip 2020 anyway), Major begins to get headaches again. He knows he is about to hop on a plane and head to Houston for CT Scans, IV’s, MRI’s, and more nurses. His nervousness, his frustrations, and his anxieties all come back. But this time, he does not have ole Willie Dog to comfort him. He does not have his best friend.
Major cries to us at night asking for Willie dog, he just does not understand why his Willie Dog would have been taken away from him. He prays that Willie can come back while he snuggles and squeezes his countless stuffed animal Willies.
My family truly believes that Willie was sent to this earth to comfort my boy through his hardships. Willie took the burden from Major when he was going through the trials of his life. Willie was sent by God to help his son, my son, get through his time of need. Willie had probably had cancer for years, but we never noticed it. And when Major came back from the surgeries and began to really improve, Willie knew his job was over.
My son just needs a dog. A person cannot comfort him like a dog can. He needs a dog that he can silently whisper all his troubles, and one that he can ask for help carrying this massive weight and anxiety of a scar on the side of his head every time he looks in the mirror. My son just needs a dog that he can love. He does not need another Willie, because Willie served his purpose, but a new dog with a new set of skills. But a dog that has calmness, compassion, love, and energy.
Attached are some pictures of Major and our family in their hard time and some of the bad. Also pictured is Willie.
Sincerely,
Bryce and Paige Williams