PEORIA For years, the Landwehrs had supported St. Jude through donations and participating in the annual runs.

But it wasn't until their 2-year-old son was a patient at the Midwest Affiliate at OSF HealthCare Children's Hospital of Illinois here in Peoria that it really sunk in how much it means to give to the health network.

"It is a story that you never think is going to be about you," said Seth Landwehr, a detective with the Peoria Police Department and a former member of the Illinois Air National Guard's 182nd Airlift Wing. "You think you can take care of your kids. You think they are healthy. You give them things. We inspect our kids all the time with my wife being a nurse.

"This happened so quickly and it's so aggressive. If it wasn't for St. Jude and everyone down there working so fast ..." he said.

The "this" Landwehr was talking about was the recent discovery that his son, Brigham, has stage 4 neuroblastoma, an aggressive form of cancer. Diagnosed less than a month ago, the little boy is finishing up his first round of chemo, and has already had an operation to remove a softball-sized tumor from his torso, just above one of his kidneys.

"It is really hard to be on this side of the care," said Stacey Landwehr, who used to work as a pediatric intensive care nurse. "You commonly hear that doctors and nurses make the worst patients as they have been on the other side. There's the heartache, the stress and the fact that you can't clock out at the end of the day and leave it.

It's my life now," she said. "But it gives you such a deeper appreciation for everything that (St. Jude) does. I have done the St. Jude runs in the past and donate every year but it now takes on a whole new meaning. It's overwhelming. Everyone's generosity has been so overwhelming."

'Darkest days of my life'

Brigham's parents noticed a dime-sized mark below his ear a few days after Christmas. Dad, who is an optimist, said it'll be fine. Mom, the nurse, worried. They thought it could be a swollen lymph node. They kept an eye on it, and then it kept growing. A sonogram was scheduled for Jan. 9. The results caused their doctor not to like what he saw. They were walked down the hall at OSF HealthCare Saint Francis Medical Center to the St. Jude area at Children's Hospital. Still, Seth was hopeful.

"I was telling my wife that everything is fine. My wife was a peds ICU nurse. She has seen the worst of the worst of the sick babies, and she goes straight to doom and gloom," he said.

The doctors at St. Jude knew right away it was neuroblastoma, which starts in the adrenal glands. An MRI was ordered to check his face, head and neck.

They got the results on a Saturday. They had taken the kids to the car show. It was a way to keep things normal. That was, until Seth saw his son's doctor, who is also a friend, parked in his driveway.

"I knew then it wasn't good," he said.

They told the couple their son had cancer. It was stage 4, and was it was moving through their son's endocrine system. Neuroblastoma is aggressive, and given that Brigham has his blood tested every few months for congenial hyperthyroidism, they figured the cancer was only a few months old.

But in that time, it had spread to his jaw, his ribs, head, spine and lungs.

"I got the news Saturday and for the next four days, I will tell you were the darkest, deepest days of my life. I didn't have a plan, I didn't know what to do," Seth said.

Pay it back

Brigham turned 2 on Jan. 18. That same day, doctors removed the softball sized tumor from his body. And he began his first round of chemotherapy. With their ties to the military Stacey remains in the Illinois Air National Guard and Seth's position as a detective, help was quick in coming. Friends and family donated toys, time, money and many shoulders to lean on.

And St. Jude was right there, the couple says. The Midwest Affiliate Clinic's location at Children's Hospital of Central Illinois has given them cause for hope and joy.

"We have been blessed with amazing surgeons and doctors," he said. "My son turned 2 on Jan. 18, and St. Jude sent up a personalized Paw Patrol cake. It's amazing the amount of love and attention they give to these kids."

And for that, they want people to help St. Jude help others. Ten years ago, Stacey noted, the prognosis for such a diagnosis was grim. Now their son has a 70% to 80% chance of beating it. And that's due to research and care which are funded by donations and events like the St. Jude runs runs, among other things.

They want to pay it back, and one way to is urge people to support St. Jude. But there are other ways.

"Donate blood or platelets when you can. This is all very new for us, and he's (Brigham) has already received a unit of blood. There is never a shortage of need when it comes to blood," Stacey said. Another way is to reduce the risk of infections for people who have their immune systems compromised. Wash your hands. If your child is sick, keep them home so they can't get others sick.

"We have good insurance, so we'll be okay, but there are a lot of people who wouldn't be in this situation," Seth said. "You now see how important the donations are.

"I'm an ambassador for St. Jude forever now."

'Caught it quick'

Brigham has a long road in front of him. There's still plenty of cancer left in his body. He still has several rounds of chemo to undergo here and then a three-month trip up to Chicago for stem cell harvesting and more treatment there. In all, his parents believe it will take a year to finish all the treatments.

But they have hope, as it appears Brigham's cancer was caught early.

"They (the doctors) ask all these questions. 'Have you noticed anything, like verbal activity impairment, balance issues?' And we were like, 'No.' In the last two to three weeks, his vocab has exploded. His imagination is off the charts. He always wants to wrestle with dad, play Star Wars or jump off the bed and into your arms," Seth said.

Normally, kids show up with a light paralysis, can't walk or their motor functions have diminished. And, he said, it's rare to have such a large tumor removed in one fell swoop without any treatment or chemo.

"We caught it quick even though it's stage 4 and it's all over his body, he has his strength and power to fight the chemo," he said.

But boys are boys. A few days after his birthday last week, Brigham got up out of bed and grabbed one of the many toys that people had brought. He fixated on a fire truck. Seth joked it settled the age-old question of what young boys want to be when they grow up. The gift came from Peoria Police Chief Loren Marion.

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2-year-old battles aggressive cancer - Pekin Daily Times