2 Young Cancer Patients Forge Best Friends Relationship In Unlikely Place
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — The corridor of a hospital is not the kind of playground most parents envision for their child.
But 3-year-old Aiden Kramer and 2-year-old Silas Rye have managed to build an unbreakable friendship on just such a playground -- the halls of Children's Hospital of Los Angeles.
CBS2's Kristine Lazar talked to the boys' mothers.
"Medicine does its job, doctors come in and they're compassionate, but hahving somebody, especially a child, who is missing out on their childhood, to be able to be truly happy, happy while they're fighting so hard, you can't buy that," says Ashley Kramer, Aiden's mom.
Silas and Aiden met last fall in the hospital's playroom. It was right after Aiden was admitted.
"It was like, 'He's my size!,' and they hit it right off," said Ashley.
The boys' dads struck up a conversation and learned that the fast friends suffer from the same disease -- a rare form of leukemia.
While Aiden was recently diagnosed, Silas has been in and out of the hospital since shortly after birth. He has endured 17 rounds of chemotherapy.
"It's extremely difficult," says Sabrina Rye, Silas' mom, "it's even harder when you see him get so excited ... about an elevator ride and you just know there is so much more out there that he deserves."
In between the chemo and the labs, there have been wagon rides and shared snacks, walks on their dad's shoulders, arts and crafts and quiet moments -- like ltogether ooking out their hospital windows.
Recently, Aiden was well enough to leave the hospital. But Silas remains. His cancer has, once again, returned.
"Sometimes he just wakes up saying, 'Aiden, Aiden!," says Sabrina.
Aiden still comes back for visits. He returns once a week to 4 East, even though many kids who leave the hospital never want to look back.
"When your son wakes up and says, 'Let's go to 4 East' and I'm like, 'Honey, you have to go to school,'" says Ashley, "it's no negative. All the bad stuff, and [to him] it's still not negative."
The Kramers and Ryes often talk about the things they will do together when both boys are well enough.
"We're like, we're going to Disneyland, we're going up to see the Sequoias together, we're going camping," says Sabrina.
An everlasting friendship -- formed in one of the most unconventional places.