2-year-old boy battling cancer gets early Christmas surprise
At 2 years of age, Hudson Clark is fighting for his life after getting diagnosed with Leukemia in November.
He is undergoing chemotherapy treatment at Loma Linda University Children's Hospital, in Loma Linda.
Since his son's diagnosis, Andrew Clark, said “it’s been a battle everyday.” Despite the long road ahead, he said Hudson is a trooper and has gone "from not wanting to take Tylenol orally, to being able to take four or five different medicines orally.”
Donations and prayers have been pouring in from the community.
A longtime family friend of the Clarks started a GoFundMe page to help raise money for Hudson's medical expenses, which are anticipated to quickly add up.
Doctors told the Clark family that their son will need a minimum of two years of treatment.
However, Hudson and his family got an early Christmas surprise from a generous outsider.
A Chicago-based medical staffing firm, Medix, heard about Hudson's story and decided they wanted to help make the holidays special for the Palm Desert family.
The President and CEO of the company, Andrew Limouris, said “every gift that we’re giving is a prayer to Hudson and his family that he gets better and some day he’s going to hear about what we did and he’s going to pay it back and pay it forward."
The company surprised the Clark family with a couple gift cards to help offset the cost of groceries and utilities, Christmas presents, and had their home decorated with lights for the holidays.
Limouris said every year he and his team travel to a different city for a company meeting, and do something good for the local community while they are there.
He said the Clarks stood out to him because he has witnessed firsthand as a football coach "what pediatric cancer can do to a family" and added he and his team "just want to put their best foot forward and help out."
Family and neighbors gathered Thursday night outside the Clark home to FaceTime Hudson from his hospital bed.
Brittney Peterson, a long-time friend of the Clarks, teamed up with Medix to surprise the family.
Hudson has been back in the hospital for treatment since Monday evening, and doctors have told his parents he'll be back and forth between home and the hospital as needed for the foreseeable future.
Andrew Clark said even though he's gone back to work coaching baseball at Xavier Prep High School, “it’s so hard to sometimes concentrate on just regular daily tasks being away from him.”
The Clarks are also making changes in their home to reinforce cleanliness in preparation for Hudson's return.
They have installed hand sanitizer dispensers throughout their home along with air purifiers in every room. They have also gotten rid of any old furniture that might collect dust.
“The air quality that he has to have is bar none because he doesn’t have an immune system,” explained Andrew Clark.
He said he and his family take every day as it comes, but "thank you" isn't enough to express how much they appreciate the outpouring of support they have received so far.
Clark said, “I can just tell you from the bottom of my heart, from both me and my wife, we are very grateful.”
Stay with News Channel 3 for developments on this story.
