Jim Grant/Nevada AppealA fundraiser is set for later this month to help Caden Huarte's family with medical costs associated with his brain tumors.
Caden Huarte, 5, smiled broadly Monday and wrestled on the floor with his giggling 2-year-old brother, Camren.
Even the littlest Huarte, Masen, 1, only momentarily sized up a stranger before cracking a grin.
The Huarte boys are such happy little men.
Even when Caden takes his shirt off to get into the pool -- and you catch a glimpse of the scar running down his spine -- it's hard to believe there's anything wrong. But there is.
The news came in March. The black cloud that had hung over the family for almost two years had spawned a storm. The tumor doctors had eradicated with surgery and radiation therapy in 2009 had come back. Only this time, it was also in Caden's spine. The young family found itself returning to surgeries and biweekly trips to the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital in Palo Alto.
"It's so overwhelming," said Erin Huarte, 30. "I guess because I don't have any control over it, I don't cry. I cry over stupid things I can control, and the stuff I can't, I just do what I have to."
On March 25, a tumor was removed from Caden's brain. On April 4, doctors removed a tumor from his spine. Caden now has ahead of him eight months of chemotherapy, blood work and MRIs, which will take at least 16 trips to the hospital.
Erin said her insurance through Raley's, where she's a meat clerk, is "excellent." But, she said, with husband Cody currently laid off from construction work, they are struggling to find the $300 it takes for each trip to Palo Alto in addition to keeping a roof over their heads.
In an effort to help with the costs, friends have organized the Caden Tyler Huarte Golf Tournament, to be held this month at Sunridge Golf Course.
According to organizer Kathy Johnson, several holes are still available for sponsors for $100 donations. She said raffle prizes are also being sought.
Erin and Cody just keep plugging along, raising their blond trio of boys, while praying for things to improve.
And Caden just goes along with the program, said Erin. But he has a need to know exactly what will happen during each trip to California. So she tells him with as much detail as he seems to need.
"He has to know every single thing."
They've begun a new ritual now, she said: Before each six-hour drive to Lucile Packard, they do something fun. On Monday they made a pit stop at Wild Waters prior to hitting the road.
"I figured if we mix in enough fun, it won't be so bad for him," she said.
It seemed to work. Before heading out the door Monday, he wrestled with his brother, poured bubbles on a pincher bug and swam a bit in the pool. He didn't want to talk about the scars on his body but was happy to answer a pressing question: "Do you like being a big brother?"
"Yeah," he said with a nod and wide smile, as Camren lay giggling on the living room floor next to him.
