AMARILLO, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) — At eight years old Waylan Wyatt was diagnosed with a rare brain cancer.

Waylan began having persistent migraines in kindergarten, which led to concern for his mom.

“They would cause him to vomit and go straight to bed,” said Waylans mom Calie Wyatt. “He was very energetic, like, high energy child. So, it was weird that he would go to bed on his own free will. We kept telling his pediatrician and they said there was nothing we could do unless you had so many migraines in a month.”

The Wyatt’s moved to Canyon in 2022 and Waylan began to have vertigo in addition to the migraines. Waylans pediatrician Dr. Medford listened to the families concerns and referred Waylan to a neurologist.

“We had gone to Dr. Medford for the very first time here in Amarillo and she said, I don’t like this at all, and I can tell your concern,” said Wyatt. “She said we’re going to get him to a neurologist straightaway. We’re going to get him an MRI scheduled and I was like, thank you. Thank you so much for listening to me.”

Within minutes of the MRI they located a tumor on Waylan’s brain. They pulled Waylan out of the MRI and sent an urgent referral to Cook Childrens in Fort Worth to see a neurosurgeon.

The biopsy results for Waylans tumor was sent to Connecticut for testing.

“It’s a deeper form of testing because the tumor was very rare,” explained Wyatt. “Then I finally got a call from his oncologist from Cook Children’s. He told us it was malignant. A couple of weeks after that he called and told us Waylan was diagnosed with CNS neuroblastoma Fox or two activated, which is a very rare embryonal tumor.”

After learning about Waylans diagnosis, Calie Wyatt called her dad asking for support.

“It was devastating news,” said Dana Havlik Waylans grandad. “Waylan was our first grandchild so there were a lot of emotions. We were ready to go. I recently retired from the Amarillo Fire Department. So, I was actually still working at the time, firefighter family was extremely supportive.

The Wyatts went back to Cooks Childrens Hospital and Waylan began treatment.

“It was really hard,” said Wyatt. “He lost a lot of weight, got really sick a lot. Then we had about a three week break after that and then we started rounds of chemo here at BSA.”

During their stay at the hospital the Wyatts were connected with Children’s Miracle Network and the Ronald McDonald House. CMN provided the Wyatt’s with support and gave them a bonus family.

“These families become your family because they understand what you’re going through,” shared Wyatt. “They have children who have gone through cancer, other medical issues and so it’s just been a huge blessing to always be able to reach out to people.”

According to Wyatt during Waylans treatment at BSA, director of Amarillo Children’s Miracle Network Lindsey Kinard was someone they family could always count on.

“I could reach out to Lindsey and says hey I need your help with this,” said Wyatt. “She would visit Waylan in the hospital during chemo. One time he could only eat Lay’s chips so she brought him a whole box of Lay’s from Walmart. It’s just the little things like that, that meant so much to us.”

Throughout Waylan’s treatment the Wyatts had support pouring in from CMN, their family and friends. Waylan’s grandad shared when the fire department found out about Waylan’s diagnosis they rallied around the family.

“A week after he had his brain surgery we had him at our training facility, and he’s climbing the ladder truck and watching live fire training at the training facility,” said Havlik. “The guys made shirts and did a t shirt fundraiser for him.”

For Calie and Waylan the outpouring support from CMN and the community was a key difference in the treatment process.

“They were so generous with their time, their money, their gifts, just in support of our child,” explained Wyatt. “I still don’t think we can truly grasp what all was done for us. It’s still it’s very humbling.”

Being able to meet other families through CMN also gave the Wyatt’s hope and a safe place to express their concerns.

“It gave us a community of other people who have success stories, who are still going through cancer, or going through other illnesses and issues,” said Wyatt. “It gave us friends there been so many cancer moms through Children’s Miracle Network that I’ve met, who when we were going through some of the toughest parts of chemo and treatment, they would just reach out or text me and say, hey, you’re heavy on my heart today.”

Wyatt continued, “it helps me feel a lot less alone and know that just these moms and dads have these miracle kids they They’re great advocates and great examples of what advocates should be and what parents should be for their children. It just helps me realize I’m not alone and it wasn’t my fault because I did all that I could.”

Waylan’s most recent scans were clear, showing that the treatment plan worked. He is in physical therapy and counseling to help regain his physical strength and work through emotions he may have. Wyatt shared he is still doing homebound learning, but they are hoping he’ll return to in person school soon and get his port taken out.

Throughout Waylan’s journey to beating cancer his family has admired his strength and perseverance.

“I’ve never seen a child be so mature as an eight year old now, after what he’s been through and seeing just to smile and his positivity and how he radiates joy,” said Wyatt. “He has no idea how many people have been inspired by him and his story.”

Waylan is also able to go on adventures with his grandad again, time they both cherish.

“He and I go mountain biking together, which we didn’t know if we’re going to be able to do that,” said Havlik. He’s an inspiration to me, he’s my little buddy. He always will be, and we love spending time together. I love going and picking him up and just taking him on an adventure.”

Although the Wyatts never expected their eight-year-old to be diagnosed with a rare brain cancer Calie Wyatt believes the timing of their move and support they received was perfectly orchestrated.

“It felt like God perfectly orchestrated every single event so that we can make it through this difficult time and Children’s Miracle Network is definitely a part of that perfectly orchestrated timeline,” said Wyatt.