Our Patients:
Beckham Bass
Seven-year-old Beckham is the son of Greg and Trish Bass and brother to 9-year-old Annalyn. Last summer, Beckham began experiencing stomach and leg pain and running an unexplained fever. One day in late July, he was playing baseball when he began limping and having difficulty running the bases.
The next morning, blood work results led to a trip to SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital, where he immediately began treatment for B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.
On his journey to a cure, he has had several bumps in the road, from a kidney stone, to a blood clot and then a complication with his liver. Even with all the curve balls thrown at him, he still maintains a smile and participates in school and sports through his local rec center.
Beckham receives both inpatient and outpatient services at The Costas Center, including multiple stays on 4 North. “The doctors and nurses have always responded quickly to all of his symptoms and have worked diligently to find the medication needed to get him back to his normal life. Although being in the hospital obviously isn’t his favorite thing to do, several of the nurses have become like family to him. With the nurses, the art therapist, and the music therapist, he now does not dread the hospital as he did initially,” says Trish.
Trish and her husband Greg comment that, “We appreciate everyone who supports SSM Health Cardinal Glennon. That support not only helps to find a cure for childhood cancer, but also allows these children to have a place where they feel loved when they must be away from home.”
Beckham is on a 3 ½ year treatment schedule. Although he still has a long way to go, his family continues to expect a full recovery.