It's a four-year battle against evil Jesse Scott never expected to be in. The news came after his then 4-year-old son Preston began getting sick.
"We went into the recovery room and they came in, one of the radiologists, and they showed us the images. They said it's a tumor and we were just, we were floored," Jesse said.
Jesse said the whole family felt as though all the air had been sucked out of the room. After catching their breath, they scheduled surgery to remove the tumor for the following week and the battle had begun.
A year of radiation and chemotherapy wrapped up just before Christmas of 2015. Things looked great. But the celebration was short-lived. A new scan a month later showed the tumor was back.
"No way. Not our kid. Can't be a tumor," said Jesse. "You thought you were done. You're not done. You don't know what's next. It's like, 'OK, I guess we're going to roll forward.'"
And roll forward they did, with more chemo, but not radiation. Jesse just couldn't take seeing his son so defeated. He sought alternative therapies to slow the growth, ease the pain.
Preston quit eating and had to be put on a feeding tube. Jesse took a demotion at work, moved in with his parents, and drained $45,000 from his 401k to pay for some of the bills the insurance wouldn't cover. Jesse didn't know of any other option.
"Their bond is just amazing," said family friend Cynthia Dumas.
She met Jesse online while both were searching for answers. She's a single parent of a child with autism and understands just how tough it can be to go it alone.
"You don't see many single fathers doing it all, and are willing to go to any lengths on Earth to take care of their children," she said.
He shared his knowledge of alternative medicine, she helped him with fundraising to cover some of the bills. She said Preston's laugh melted her heart.
"Just this incredible faith that they have and what a miracle he already is, you can't help but just believe and want to fight with them and for them," said Dumas.
When Preston relapsed, doctors gave him less than a year to live with no treatment. Even with treatment, he was made no promises. More than two years later, and eyeing his 8th birthday, he's taking it one day at a time.
The two just got back from an all-expenses-paid trip to Disneyland where Preston battled Darth Vader. After four years, he knows the dark side all too well. Father and son, fighting side-by-side, ready for whatever comes next.
To learn more about Preston's journey, you can visit their YouCaring page.
