Update: Two-year old Valley patient improves

ROANOKE RAPIDS — In December the Daily Herald reported two-year old Kevin Clark Jr., “KJ,” was suffering from a painful and debilitating condition called astrocytoma, a tumor in his spinal column. The public rallied to help, holding fundraisers and sending prayers.

Since then KJ has been undergoing chemotherapy and has had to endure the ups and downs the medicine brings. In an e-mail from his mother, Angela, she shared, “KJ's tumor is shrinking!”

In KJ’s last checkup the MRI showed that he is much improved and hopefully the chemotherapy will completely dissolve the tumor and he will be able to live a normal life.

“He is still trying to run and do everything he sees my older two children do, but when he falls or can't do something that they do, he gets very frustrated. He is still going to physical therapy twice a week because the chemo may cause muscle weakness. He will have to continue going until he completes chemotherapy. He is learning how to walk up and down stairs and to jump and walk sideways and backwards. We take the little things for granted when we see a child that can do them on their own.”

It was Sept. 19 when the diagnosis was handed down. According to the Mayo Clinic, astrocytomas originates from cells called astrocytes and are most commonly found in the main part of the brain, the cerebrum. People can develop astrocytomas at any age, though they are more common in adults. It is a painful condition.