Local boy declared healthy, no longer needs transplant

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Dr. Sandeep Soni said he doesn’t have an explanation for his young patient’s recovery.

But 10-month-old DeKanye Hawkins’ grandmother has no doubt who deserves all the credit.

“We just attribute it to the good Lord,” Tara Toliver said after learning that DeKanye will not have to undergo a bone marrow transplant.

The infant was diagnosed in 2004 with myelodysplastic syndrome, a disease of the bone marrow that could potentially have left him blind or prone to organ failure, according to his grandmother.

With his family, he has made regular trips to Kosair Children’s Hospital in Louisville, and DeKanye’s medical information had been included on a national search list for bone marrow donors.

The boy is the son of Reshawn Toliver, Hopkinsville, and lives with his family on East 18th Street. He was expected to have the transplant surgery this month, but a trip to see Soni earlier this week in Louisville brought welcome news.

DeKanye’s blood counts were so high that his doctor pronounced him well, Toliver said, and the young boy won’t have to return to Kosair unless another problem arises.

“He said (my grandson) was well,” Toliver said in a recent telephone interview. “He said right now he’s well, (but) he doesn’t know if it will ever come back or if it will stay away.”

Toliver said her grandson will continue to have complete blood counts every three or four months to monitor the situation. He’s had no blood transfusions since August, and his hemoglobin and platelets were normal when Soni checked them during DeKanye’s most recent visit to Louisville.

Reflecting on the past few months, Toliver says she believes the Lord had a purpose for her grandson and has used the young boy’s illness to bring attention to the need for blood donors and for folks willing to help each other.

“I thought that God was using him to get a message out there,” Toliver said. “Somehow we need to be aware of how important it is to donate blood.”

DeKanye’s grandmother noted that numerous people in Hopkinsville and elsewhere have been praying for her grandson, and she said she has been grateful for their prayers and support.

“I was overwhelmed and happy and shouting and crying and everything,” she said of the good news she and her family received earlier this week. “All kinds of emotions were coming out, but we were grateful that he don’t have to go through all that kind of stuff anymore.”

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