TEXARKANA MAGAZINE
were confident in him reaching complete remission. There were four weeks when he went every day for chemo. He got so thin. He lost all his hair. He was so sick,” Faith said. “At the end of that phase, tests showed he still had cancer. We were completely devastated and terrified.” Doctors began discussing bone marrow transplant, and it was looking like that might be the best next course of action. Bridger started a 28-day continuous infusion of an immunotherapy drug called blinatumomab, wearing a small backpack that kept his port accessible 24/7. He would have weekly changes to his IV bag and fresh port dressings. “We prayed constantly,” Faith said. “A group of believers, organized by friends, prayed twice a day at 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. that whole week.” About a week and a half after receiving the devastating news that Bridger still had cancer, the third and most sensitive test results came back completely negative, and showed zero cancer. Bridger would not need a transplant. The doctors could not explain it. “There was no logical or scientific explanation. That test is so sensitive that it can detect one cancer cell out of a million, so they felt confident he was in complete remission. These tests are so sensitive and rarely incorrect, so why did the second test detect an increase in cancer cells? And then why did the most sensitive test detect zero?”
questioned Faith. “We knew it was God. He had heard our prayers and was merciful. The Bible says, ‘the prayer of a righteous man avails much,’ and I know righteous people prayed for our boy that week faithfully, and God was compassionate and healed Bridger.” “Some of the hardest moments were having to hold him down while nurses accessed his port and hearing him scream, ‘Let me go!’ It was traumatizing every single time. Watching him suffer was unbearable, but God gave us the strength we did not have.” What sustained them was the overwhelming generosity of others. “God provided through His people in the most incredible ways,” Faith said. “Meals appeared. Childcare was covered. Financial gifts arrived when bills came due. Anonymous donors gave thousands of dollars on four separate occasions. Even people we had known for less than six months loved us like family. It was humbling to see them spring into action to love and serve us in unglamorous ways, often sacrificing their own time and entire days on multiple occasions to make sure we were taken care of.” Faith’s parents kept Bridger and Baker for them, since neither child could attend regular childcare for fear of bringing home illnesses. Her mother attended every appointment and stayed at the hospital when Faith and Jeff returned to work. Her younger sister, Abbey, took time away from her own job and family to stay at the hospital and
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