GAIL WHITE Little leukemia survivor celebrates life with enthusiasm

As I knocked on the door of Lori and Jason Perry's apartment in Columbiana, I could hear the wonderful, chaotic noises of children on the other side.
"I just closed the door and now someone is knocking on it," exclaimed a little voice.
Jason opened the door and greeted me. Behind him was a curious 6-year-old, eager to see who had been knocking.
Looking down at his big brown eyes and wide, happy smile, I introduced myself. "And you must be Brandon," I said.
"Yep," he answered confidently.
"Who's this?" I asked him, pointing to an infant in a cradle.
"That's my baby brother, Jacob," Brandon explained.
"And who is that?" I questioned him again as I watched a little 2-year-old girl struggle with her coat.
"Oh, that's my little sister," Brandon said, not bothering to share her name. Morgan didn't seem to notice. Unlike Brandon, she was shy and reserved at my presence.
"I'm going to go talk to your parents about you," I said to Brandon as I walked into the kitchen.
"OK," he said nonchalantly, turning on PlayStation and sitting down in a rocking chair.
A wonderful child
I watched him for a moment. What a delightfully wonderful child, I thought to myself. He wasn't at all what I expected when I knocked on the door of this home. With everything this child had been through, I thought he would have a sad, sickly appearance and demeanor. Brandon looked like he had never been sick a day in his life. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Three years ago, on Sept. 14, Lori rushed Brandon, 3 years old then, to an emergency medical center because he was having trouble breathing.
"He woke up and was gasping for breath," Lori said, remembering the night the nightmare began.
A month earlier, Lori had made a similar trip to the emergency medical center. Brandon was diagnosed with bronchitis on that visit. This time, the center determined Brandon had pneumonia. But there was something about Brandon's condition that bothered the doctor, so he sent Brandon's X-rays to Tod Children's Hospital for analysis.
Shocking diagnosis
"They told us there was a huge mass blocking his airway," Lori said, looking over at her husband, Jason. The seriousness of the news still strikes them.
Brandon had lymphocytic leukemia.
This young couple, Lori, 21 at the time, and Jason, 24, were just settling into marriage and parenthood together. Brandon Leonelli is Lori's son from a previous relationship. Jason has a son as well, Bradley, 2 years younger than Brandon. They had just settled into an apartment, found a good church and were expecting their first child together.
The night of Sept. 14, 2000, the joy and tranquillity of their new life was put on hold as Brandon was life-flighted to Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital in Cleveland.
Brandon stayed at the hospital for six weeks. Thankfully, the radiation treatments immediately began to shrink the cancerous mass. No operation was needed.
But Brandon did need chemotherapy.
"He was a real trooper through everything," Lori said, smiling and looking over at her brave son.
"Oh! I'm smoking him now!" Brandon yelled at his racing game, oblivious to our conversation about him.
"It's been a real roller coaster ride," Jason said. "That first year it would be so bad that we would be lucky if we made it home from the hospital before we had to take him back because he spiked a fever."
"His immune system was really low," Lori explained. "We couldn't take him to a restaurant, the grocery store, nothing."
Happy and energetic
This month, Brandon celebrates one year since the end of his treatment. Judging from his smile and energy, every moment is a celebration for him.
"What do you want to be when you grow up?" I asked him.
"Go through the list," Jason teasingly prompted him.
"A football player, a fireman ..." Brandon said, stopping in midsentence. A wave of shyness overcomes him -- but only for a second.
"I want to be everything!" he announced and bounced back to his game.
gwhite@vindy.com