Outdoors healing Leukemia patient, age 9, keeps vibrant through hunting, fishing
By Scott Bernarde
Atlanta Journal-Constitution Staff Writer
Blake Batson wants to be an doctor. Or an artist. Maybe both.
"Maybe a doctor and a part-time artist," the Covington boy said. "And I'll go fishing every Saturday."
Blake's eyes sparkled behind his glasses and a smile stretched longer with each word. It was nice to talk about something besides leukemia.
Like a recent fishing trip with his father and grandpa, when they caught 130 hybrid bass in back-to-back days on Lake Oconee. In his enthusiasm, Blake almost gave away his father Aaron's secret weapon for catching hybrids. Then there was his first deer, a doe killed Oct. 17, a day after his 9th birthday. And don't forget about the upcoming trip to a Mississippi hunting preserve, where "I'm hoping to get an even bigger one."
With each story, Blake showed he really was no different from any other outdoors-loving third-grader. The leukemia, which has meant chemotherapy since its diagnosis in June, has become just a small part of what he is about. Blake will have to endure 108 weeks of treatments, which so far have included chemo shots nearly every week at Egleston Children's Hospital at Emory University, periodic chemo drips through a catheter port in his chest and daily pills. He asked that the catheter be implanted in this left side, "so I can shoot. My right shoulder is my rifle shoulder."
"I really don't see it as being that hard anymore," said Blake, who was diagnosed after his parents noticed listlessness and swelling in his neck. "I go every week [to Egleston]. I get a shot in the butt and go home."
Blake's battle and zest for the outdoors has grabbed the attention of Georgia outdoorsmen. Members of the Woody's Taxidermy message board (www.woodystaxidermy.com) have raised more than $2,000 to help the family. A member helped line up the Mississippi trip. There have been two cookouts in Blake's honor.
"They are a great bunch of guys and have gone above and beyond for Blake," said Aaron Batson, an AT&T employee and part-time fishing guide. "They have sort of adopted him as their little mascot."
It all started when the elder Batson, an occasional contributor to the message board, posted a note asking for prayers for Blake. In the post he also asked if anybody knew of a squirrel dog for sale that he could buy for his son. Within a half-hour, there were two offers to give Blake a championship-line dog. Soon, a puppy named Rooster was delivered.
Board moderator Jim Young set up an account for Blake at a Snellville bank. Member Jim Thompson helped set up the Mississippi trip.
"It's amazing how on fire Blake is about hunting and fishing," Young said. "We wanted to see if there was something we could do for him."
The Childhood Leukemia Center says around 3,250 kids are diagnosed every year, but for many, including Blake, the prognosis is good. Recent tests have shown less than 2 percent leukemia cells in Blake's bone marrow.
"They told us that if it all went well they'd put him into remission in 28 days, and they did," mother Leigh Batson said. "They also said that in a month, this would all be routine. I thought they were nuts -- there's no way this could be routine -- but they were right about that, too."
If you want to make a donation, send a check to: Hunters for Blake Assistance Fund 2275 Mathew Court Monroe, GA 30655.
