'Important For Me To Protect Her': West Sacramento Son Gets Vaccinated For Mom Battling Cancer
WEST SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – Evan Brown, 12, loves baseball and his friends, but most importantly, he loves his mom, Melissa. She is battling an incurable blood cancer called multiple myeloma which requires daily chemotherapy pill treatments.
"She has a type of cancer where if she gets COVID, she could die," Evan said.
"My immune system is shot. So, the pandemic made us on serious lockdown," Melissa Brown said.
So, baseball, friends and other normal kid things were gone for this son wary for his own mother's health with COVID-19.
"It was just really important for me to protect her, me, my brother, my dad, everyone," Evan said.
He even had the pandemic's new normal of a drive-by birthday party and put baseball on hold.
When talks of the vaccine first started, that's all Evan could think about.
"His birthday is in October and he said all he wants is the vaccine," Melissa Brown said.
"To protect her. I just wanted to get back to real life and see my friends and play baseball again," Evan Brown said.
But, Evan wouldn't have to wait until his birthday. On Friday, they got the email from Kaiser that Evan could get his wish.
"By 4:20, we were at Cal Expo and he was getting the vaccine," Melissa Brown said. "He was so brave. He said he just felt like the weight was lifted off of him."
It's a moment of a son stepping up to help his mother.
"I don't want them getting it or possibly dying from it either," Evan Brown said. "I know I can protect her now from this."
It's something that his mother will never forget.
"Just shows what a selfless hero he is at 12 years old," Melissa Brown said.
Evan hopes that other kids from 12 to 15 are encouraged to get the vaccine.
The family is still playing it safe to do more normal things until their 8-year-old son can get his shot.
Melissa told CBS13 that she is fully vaccinated.
Given her condition, she says that her doctors said there wasn't enough research showing how her type of cancer would react to the vaccine that would outweigh not getting it and risk catching COVID-19.
The National Cancer Institute said that there's some evidence that those who are treated for cancer or those who weakened immune systems may have a weaker response to the vaccines. The institute also stated that it's important that family members and caregivers receive their vaccinations.