School Collects 100+ Hats For Student Battling Leukemia
Style Magazine Newswire | 2/17/2017, 4:15 p.m.
Alex Alexander.
BLOUNT COUNTY, TENN. - There is no shortage of love and support for a nine-year-old boy who is six months into his battle with Leukemia. Thanks to his teachers and classmates he has no shortage of hats, either.
"I always liked hats. But now my head is cold a lot of the time so I wear them more," said Alex Alexander.
Alexander was rushed to East Tennessee Children's Hospital in mid-August of 2016.
"It was the worst phone call of all time. The doctor called and said 'Get Alex to Children's as quickly and safely as possible.' There are doctors there waiting for him. His platelet count is so low he could bleed out," said Janice Alexander, Alex's mom.
The fight hasn't been easy. Alex has gone through chemotherapy and has missed the majority of this school year.
When asked if he missed going to school, Alex said, "9,000%. I miss everything. Probably my friends the most."
At no surprise to his mother, Alex's classmates and teachers at Union Grove Elementary School miss him, too.
"When that happened to him, I hurt in my heart for him and I just wanted to figure out what I could do to help him to not suffer or hurt and feel included still," said Amy Buchanan, Alex's 3rd-grade teacher.
To keep Alex's presence at the forefront of the school's mind, a giant stuffed monkey now sits at Alex's desk in homeroom. The monkey goes everywhere the class does. It's gone to choir concerts, gym class and even Trick-or-Treating.
"It's amazing. It makes Alex feel like he's a little bit a part of everything still," said Janice Alexander.
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