WELL, CHAD AND MANDY STACY
HAD A HEARTBREAKING DECISION TO
MAKE.
SHOULD THEY ALLOW THEIR NEWBORN
SON TO UNDERGO CHEMOTHERAPY
WHEN THE CHEMO MIGHT KILL HIM
IF THE CANCER DIDN'T KILL HIM
FIRST.
LEUKEMIA IN NEWBORNS IS VERY
RARE.
BUT ETHAN WAS BORN WITH IT.
ACCORDING TO HIS DOCTORS, HE
WOULD DIE FROM IT.
ETHAN HAD AML, A VERY
AGGRESSIVE TYPE OF LEUKEMIA.
CHILDREN WHO ARE BORN WITH
LEUKEMIA DON'T USUALLY DO VERY
WELL.
THE DOCTOR WAS ONE OF HIS
PHYSICIANS IN NASHVILLE.
THE BEST WE CAN OFFER WAS TO
PUT ETHAN THROUGH DIFFICULT
CHEMOTHERAPY AND STILL NOT KNOW
THAT HE WOULD MAKE IT THROUGH.
CHEMO IS SO TOXIC OR
NEWBORNS DOCTORS GAVE HIM THE
APTION NOT TO TREAT THEIR SON.
I REMEMBER LAYING IF BED AND
PRAYING AND SAID GOD, GIVE US
AN ANSWER.
WE BOTH WOKE UP THE NEXT
MORNING AND BOTH SAID NO, WE'RE
NOT GOING TO PUT HIM THROUGH IT.
CHAD AND MANDY TOOK THEIR
SON HOME.
A FEW DAYS LATER, TUMORS
STARTED POPPING UP ALL OVER HIS
BODY.
HIS FEET, HIS HANDS, HIS
FOREARM.
IT'S WHEN HE STARTED NOT
BREATHING, YOU KNOW.
THEN HE TOOK HIS FINAL TURN
FOR THE WORSE.
I CALLED VANDERBILT AND SAID
YOU KNOW, WHAT DO I DO IF
SOMETHING HAPPENS?
AND THEY TOLD ME NOT TO CALL
911.
THE NURSE TOLD ME THAT HE MIGHT
HEMORRHAGE, WHICH THEN I WOULD
SEE BLOOD IN HIS DIAPER AND
COMING OUT OF HIS EARS.
ETHAN WAS NEAR DEATH WITH A
CHAD AND MANDY TOOK THE PAINFUL
WALK THROUGH THE CEMETERY TO
SEE THE PLACE WHERE THEY WOULD
BURY THEIR SON.
PLEASE WELCOME TO THE "700
CLUB" CHAD AND MANDY STACY.
WONDERFUL TO HAVE YOU BOTH HERE.
WE WATCH THAT AND YOU TWO AS
PARENTS I'M SURE ARE NOW AWARE
THAT THAT'S EVERY PARENTS'
NIGHTMARE.
ESPECIALLY WITH A NEWBORN, A
TIME OF JOY, EVERYTHING SHOULD
BE WONDERFUL AND CELEBRATING
AND HERE YOU ARE FACED WITH
THESE KINDS OF DECISIONS FOR
YOUR NEW SON.
CHAD, WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE NOT
TO DO THE CHEMOTHERAPY?
I DON'T KNOW.
I KNEW THAT GOD WAS WITH US AND
I JUST KEPT PRAYING THAT HIS
WILL BE DONE IN EVERYTHING.
MANDY, I CAN'T IMAGINE.
THERE WAS A VOLUME OF QUESTION
BEHIND YOUR QUESTION TO THE
NURSES, WHAT DO I DO?
THE QUESTION IS WHAT DO I DO IF
HE DIES, WHAT DO I DO WITH MY
SON'S BODY?
WHAT WAS GOING THROUGH YOUR
MIND AT THAT TIME.
IT WAS VERY SCARY THINKING
OF WHAT COULD OCCUR.
A LOT OF DREAD.
HERE YOU WERE WALKING THROUGH A
CEMETERY TRYING TO FIGURE OUT
WHERE YOU WOULD BURY YOUR SON.
WHAT WENT THROUGH YOUR MIND AT
THAT TIME AS A DAD?
I GUESS THAT WE JUST HAD A
NEWBORN BABY AND WE'RE FIXING
TO BURY HIM.
SO HERE YOU ARE GOING
THROUGH THIS LIVING DAY-TO-DAY
WONDERING HOW LONG IT WILL
HAPPEN AND PHYSICALLY SEEING
CHAD GET WORSE.
HE HAD SORES ON HIS BODY,
TUMORS BEGAN TO DEVELOP.
NOT ONE, NOT TWO BUT LITERALLY
ALL OVER HIS BODY AND YOU'RE
SEEING THE MANIFESTATION OF
WHAT DOCTORS ARE SAYING IS A
POSSIBILITY.
WHEN DID IT BEGIN TO TURN
AROUND?
WHAT HAPPENED?
WELL, HE BECAME REALLY SICK
WHERE HE WAS HAVING PERIODS OF
APNEA WHERE HE WOULD STOP
BREATHING FOR A MATTER OF 30
SECONDS TO A MINUTE AND JUST
GRADUALLY HE GOT BETTER.
HE STARTED FEEDING AND EATING
AND JUST LIKE A TYPICAL NEWBORN
BABY AND I REMEMBER TELLING THE
-- WE WERE TALKING AND PRAYING
AND I REMEMBER SAYING TO CHAD,
I THINK HE'S BEING HEALED AND
WE TOLD THE DOCTORS BUT THEIR
REACTION WAS THAT WE WERE BOTH
IN DENIAL.
WAS IT HARD TO BELIEVE WHEN
WHAT YOU WERE SEEING WITH YOUR
EYES.
UNTIL HE BEGAN TO TAKE THE
FOOD, EVEN WHEN HE TOOK THE
FOOD HE STILL HAD THE TUMORS.
RIGHT.
THE TUMORS DIDN'T REALLY
DISSOLVE UNTIL GRADUALLY AFTER
HE BEGAN TO EAT, RIGHT?
CORRECT.
SO HOW DID YOU HANG ON TO
FAITH IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT?
I DON'T KNOW.
I KNEW THAT HE WAS WITH US.
YOU COULD JUST FEEL IT.
YOU KNOW.
YOU HAD A CHURCH THAT WAS
REALLY STANDING WITH YOU, TOO,
DIDN'T YOU?
OUR CHURCH PRAYED AND OUR
FRIENDS AND IT MEANT THE WORLD
TO US.
ONE OF THE THINGS WE LOVE ON
THIS PROGRAM IS HEARING WHAT
DOCTORS HAVE TO SAY ABOUT
HEALING AND SO LET'S LISTEN TO
DR. RHODES' RESPONSE TO ETHAN'S
RECOVERY.
ETHAN HAD GOTTEN ABOUT AS
SICK AS A BABY COULD POSSIBLY
GET AND THEN SPONTANEOUSLY GOT
BETTER.
SO WE WANTED TO LOOK, WAS THERE
STILL EVIDENCE OF LEUKEMIA IN
ETHAN AND WE DID THE BONE
MARROW TEST WHICH SHOWED NO
EVIDENCE OF LEUKEMIA.
FOR HIM TO HAVE GOTTEN AS SICK
AS HE DID AND THEN JUST TURN
AROUND SPONTANEOUSLY OVERNIGHT,
THAT'S A MIRACLE.
THAT'S A MIRACLE.
AND THE MIRACLE IS WITH US.
WE WOULD LIKE YOU TO MEET ETHAN
HIMSELF.
COME ON UP HERE.
YOU DON'T LOOK SICK A BIT.
NOW, YOU WERE SO YOUNG WHEN ALL
OF THAT HAPPENED THAT YOU
PROBABLY DON'T REMEMBER ANY OF
IT.
BUT WHAT DO YOU THINK TODAY
WHEN YOU HEAR PEOPLE TALK ABOUT
WHAT GOD HAS DONE FOR YOU?
IS IT HARD TO IMAGINE THAT YOU
ACTUALLY WENT THROUGH ALL OF
THAT?
YEAH.
BUT YOU LOOK PRETTY HEALTHY
TODAY.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO IN YOUR
FREE TIME?
WHAT IS FUN FOR YOU?
PLAYING ON MY D.S.
OKAY.
ARE YOU A SPORTS GUY?
DO YOU LIKE SPORTS?
YES, YEAH.
YOU LOOK LIKE SOMEBODY WHO HAS
GOT SOME MUSCLE AND SOME --
BASEBALL, I LIKE THAT, TOO.
I LIKE THAT, TOO.
WE'VE GOT SOME WONDERFUL
STORIES ALL THIS WEEK ON HOW
GOD HAS DONE MIRACLES LIKE HE
DID FOR YOU, ETHAN.
IT IS AN UNUSUAL THING FOR A
BABY TO BE BORN WITH LEUKEMIA.
THAT'S THE DIFFICULT HERE.
WHEN THAT HAPPENS, THE
PROGNOSIS FOR THE TREATMENTS IS
NOT GOOD AT ALL.
SO WHAT YOU SAW HAPPEN WITH
ETHAN IS REALLY AN ASTONISHING
MIRACLE.
CHAD, WHERE DID YOU GET TO THE
PLACE WHERE YOU COULD EXHALE
AND SAY GOD HAS RESTORED MY SON
TO ME?
FOR ME, JUST DURING THE
PERIOD THAT I KNEW THAT HIS
WILL WAS GOING TO BE DONE I WAS
OKAY WITH HIM DYING OR LIVING.
BUT I'M GLAD HE LIVED.
EVEN EIGHT YEARS LATER IT IS
A POWERFUL THING.
IT IS.
TO SEE AND REMEMBER AND KNOW
WHAT GOD DID, WHICH WAS AMAZING.
WE HAVE A GREAT LITTLE BOOKLET
WE'RE GIVING ANYBODY WHO IS
INTERESTED CALLED "SECRETS OF
THE SUPERNATURAL."
IF YOU WANT TO GET AHOLD OF IT
CALL THE NUMBER ON YOUR SCREEN.
1-800-759-0700.
WE JUST ARE GRATEFUL TO SEE YOU
HAPPY AND HEALTHY WITH YOUR MOM
AND DAD AND THEY'RE ENJOYING IN
GOD'S AMAZING GIFT, THE GIFT OF A SON.
