He loves chicken nuggets, Mickey Mouse and dragons. Four-year-old Ezra King just wants to play and make others laugh.
“He’s a little stinker,” his mother said. “And I mean that in the sweetest way.”
Ezra is a happy boy with a personality way bigger than his tiny frame. And that’s what guides the King family through the unknown. Ezra has a brain tumor.
He was diagnosed at 18 months and underwent surgery to remove as much of the tumor as possible. But even while on chemotherapy, Ezra’s tumor grew. His grade 2 glioma combined with a cell mutation makes Ezra’s situation difficult. Nothing has worked and there is currently no known cure.
“Unfortunately for us, any treatment we try is just buying us time until there is a drug developed that will get rid of his tumor entirely," his mother, Ramona King, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Credit: Family photo
Credit: Family photo
When he was born Sept. 13, 2016, Ezra joined big sister Amie, who doted on her little brother from the first minute she saw him. His first birthday came and went, and Ezra seemed like the perfectly healthy little boy.
There may have been signs something was wrong — he seemed to have a lot of headaches and his speech was delayed. But nothing so alarming that his parents or pediatrician worried. It was Ezra’s fall on April 28, 2018, that changed everything.
“That was the worst day ever,” Ramona King said.
A quiet Saturday morning turned into a family trip to Northeast Georgia Medical Center, not far from where the Kings lived at the time, just to make sure Ezra hadn’t broken any bones. An emergency room doctor ordered a CT scan to make sure the toddler hadn’t suffered an injury to his head.
Ramona and her husband, Travis, initially thought that seemed like overkill. Ezra seemed fine, even charming nurses by pretending to be Cookie Monster.
When the doctor returned to the room, though, the Kings knew something was wrong. The doctor was visibly upset and showed the family Ezra’s scans. There was a mass roughly the size of a softball behind the child’s left eye.
The Kings were told to take Ezra immediately to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite, where doctors were waiting on him. Further scans and tests confirmed the diagnosis.
“My husband and I have never ever, ever taken for granted a quiet Saturday morning," Ramona King said.
About two weeks later, little Ezra underwent a 10-hour surgery to remove as much of the tumor as possible. But it couldn’t be completely removed due to its location: it starts in his brain stem, surrounds his optic nerve, and wraps around a major blood vessel.
Credit: Woodstock police
Credit: Woodstock police
Ezra spent weeks in the hospital, where his rehabilitation routine included speech and physical therapy. By that August, 25% of the tumor had grown back.
His parents and doctors were hopeful an experimental chemotherapy regime would help shrink Ezra’s tumor. But after 67 trips to Atlanta for chemo, Ezra was pulled from the trial because his tumor had grown.
In January, days after the King family welcomed baby Ellen, Ezra began a different experimental drug plan. Once again, scans later showed growth of the tumor. Now, the toddler has started another completely different plan of two chemotherapies.
Sometimes, Ezra is violently ill from the powerful medicine. But he repeatedly shows his family just how strong he is, and that’s what gives his parents hope.
“What gets me through this is his attitude,” his mother said. “He’s never cried once during the chemo port access. He may be a little grumpy, but he never complains. He just does it.”
Ramona King, a photographer, was laid off from her job days before Ezra’s diagnosis. She works when she is able but is focused on caring for her three children while her husband works as a Woodstock police officer.
Credit: Family photo
Credit: Family photo
The family is focused on making happy memories whenever Ezra feels up to it. The Christmas decorations are already up, anything to bring extra cheer. But finances are always in the back of their minds for Travis and Ramona.
On Saturday, a car show will be held in Woodstock to help the King’s family with Ezra’s care.
“We are lucky to have Travis and the King family as part of the WPD family," Woodstock Police Chief Calvin Moss said. Travis is a great officer whose love for our community shines through each day.”
The Car Show for Team Ezra will be held from noon to 4 p.m. at First Baptist Woodstock. Registration begins at 10 a.m. at the church and is $20 per car, according to the Woodstock Public Safety Foundation. All of the proceeds will benefit the King family.
“My prayer is that one day we can do for others what they have done for us," Ramona King said. "We just want to share what’s going in Ezra’s life. He’s an amazing little guy.”
The King family plans to attend if Ezra feels well enough for a ride in his stroller.
“It definitely warms my heart to know that people are praying for my little boy," Ramona King said. "That’s what we really need. We just want him here.”
HOW TO HELP
Donations benefiting the King family can be made through a Go Fund Me page or through the Woodstock Police Foundation’s PayPal account.
KEEP UP WITH EZRA’S STORY
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/goteamezra
And Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mother2kings/
About the Author
