When Sweetrell Williams, 29, learned from doctors last summer that her three-year-old son, Kamran, had leukemia, it felt like her world was over.
“I was so confused,” Sweetrell said. “How did this happen to my baby? I just kept asking, how? Why?”
Over the last eight months, Kamran has undergone three rounds of chemotherapy, five surgeries, and numerous blood transfusions. He battled a fungal and bacterial infection late last year that put him in the hospital for months.
But Sweetrell, a 2015 Destrehan High School graduate, said Kamran is a strong child.
“With everything that he’s going through, you wouldn’t even know that my child is sick,” Sweetrell said. “He doesn’t act like it. He’s just so brave.”
The Helping Hearts Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in the Greater New Orleans area, and Ochsner Blood Bank will host a blood drive and jambalaya sale for Kamran on Sunday, March 15 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at St. Anthony of Padua in Luling. All blood types are needed, and photo IDs are required. Helping Hearts Foundation is also accepting monetary donations for Kamran and his family at donorbox.org/kamran-cancer-fundraiser.
Sweetrell was studying to become a medical assistant when Kamran began daily chemotherapy. She was forced to take a leave of absence from her studies, but she plans to return to school this month. She’ll complete her degree in about six months.
“I’m a single mom and life is not easy,” Sweetrell said. “The biggest thing I can ask for is a lot of prayers. I’m blessed enough to get by, but it’s hard. Anything can help.”
‘Something is wrong’
When an older woman at Dollar General made a comment about Kamran’s stomach looking unusually swollen last summer, Sweetrell brushed it off at first. But then her energetic toddler suddenly lost interest in playing.
“If he’s not playing then you know something is wrong,” Sweetrell said. “He didn’t want to do anything for two days straight. He didn’t want to eat. He was just sleeping.”
When Kamran told his mom that his stomach hurt too much for her to pick him up, she rushed him to the emergency room.
Doctors at the ER found that Kamran’s spleen and liver were both enlarged. His blood work came back abnormal, with an extremely high white blood cell count. A doctor told Sweetrell that Kamran was sick with either sickle cell disease or leukemia. Kamran was transferred to a specialist who diagnosed him with leukemia.
“It was very stressful,” Sweetrell said. “Every time I start talking about it, I get emotional. Watching my baby go through stuff like that. It was hard.”
Kamran lost weight. His bones became weak. He had to learn to walk again. He spent his third birthday in the hospital sick with an infection. He was there for two and a half months, missing a trip to see Monster Jam. Instead, members of Sweetrell’s family showed up to the hospital with a birthday cake and balloons.
“My family came through,” Sweetrell said. “I have a big support system.”
‘Whatever I have to do for my baby’
When Sweetrell learned she was pregnant with Kamran, she felt unready. But her parents were supportive and told her the pregnancy was a blessing – and she soon agreed.
Sweetrell had a smooth pregnancy and even after Kamran started going to daycare, he hardly ever got sick.
“He was the healthiest kid,” Sweetrell said.
Kamran loves to dance and play. He loves dinosaurs and Spider-Man.
“He’s a very outgoing child,” Sweetrell said. “He has a big personality. He’s very smart.”
He’s also helpful and kind. The other day when Sweetrell’s allergies caused a bad headache, Kamran started rubbing Sweetrell’s back.
“He told me, ‘Mommy, I’m gonna help you feel better,’” Sweetrell said.
Kamran is currently undergoing chemotherapy once a week. This is his third cycle of chemotherapy, but doctors believe a stem cell transplant next month will finally put Kamran in remission. Sweetrell will be Kamran’s donor.
“Whatever I have to do for my baby to be healed,” she said.
