SAN ANTONIO -- News 4 WOAI recently started a new segment called Elsa's Angels, where we share stories of good, hardworking people who are up against the most extraordinary challenges of their lives and help them find "angels".
Caelan Talavera was just a normal kid enjoying life with his brothers. The oldest of three, the charismatic 10-year-old filled the room with energy with just a smile. But last November, his grandmother and father started to see a change.
"He couldn't stay up on his bike. He crashed 3 times a day," grandma Janet Talavera told us.
"We thought maybe he was having eye trouble or an ear infection," explained dad Jason Talavera.
But they found out on New Year's Eve the problem was much bigger than they ever could have imagined. Caelan had a medula blastoma, a tumor on the brain stem, and had to go into surgery immediately.
"The first thing they told me was they needed to relieve the pressure because his heart and lungs could stop at any moment," recalled Janet.
Doctors placed a shunt in Caelan's head, and three days later, doctors removed the tumor. When Caelan came out of surgery his dad Jason said, "He couldn't move anything. He couldn't talk. He couldn't do anything.
"Yeah," added Caelan. "Walking, talking, brushing my teeth, using my arms and my legs."
All of it was gone, overnight. Along with the life as the Talavera's knew it.
Caelan had to wear a mask for radiation treatments while bolted down to a table to target the tumor. He also started chemotherapy. It would be four and a half months before Caelan would leave the hospital.
"My cats really missed me when that happened," Caelan told us.
And that was just the beginning.
"He's got all kinds of doctors appointments 2, 3 times a week," said dad Jason. "Therapy appointments every day."
It's something that's not easy for a single father of three boys working full time, but with no insurance.
Back in April, Caelan's classmates at Schertz Elementary held a fundraiser and collected $10,000 to help pay for Caelan's fight against cancer. But financially, things are getting tougher every day. His grandma and dad are missing a lot of work to take care of Caelan and his brothers.
"Dad is working enough hours that he has been able to pay utilities," Janet said. "I help as much as I can with other things, like rent, buying school clothes."
Caelan's dad had to have a ramp installed just to be able to bring him home. But that is just the beginning of what he's going to now need for everyday life.
"He can't use the bathroom down the hall at all," explained Janet. "He has to use the one in here, so he can use the bathtub. We don't have any bars or any of that stuff installed right now."
"He wants to be here with his dad," added Janet. "He wants to be here with his brothers."
The Talavera's could really use some special medical equipment, such as rails and bars, that would help Caelan get around his house and allow him to spend more time at home with his family.
If you think you can be one of Elsa's Angels, and Caelan's angel, contact me at
ElsaRamon@woaitv.com.
