Devon Still gets tattoo of Leah to mark one year since cancer diagnosis (Photo)
It’s been nearly a year since Leah Still, the daughter of Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle Devon Still, was diagnosed with cancer on June 2, 2014.
To commemorate Leah’s strength over the past year, Devon got an awesome tattoo of Leah on his back.
Though she has been in remission since March, Leah, just five years old, had a setback in her recovery from neuroblastoma, Devon announced Friday.
“I need some prayers sent up for Leah tonight! We hit a pretty serious complication from the stem cell transplant called VOD,” Devon wrote on his Instagram account. “They caught it early so hopefully it gives the doctors a better chance of stopping it from getting aggressive. As you can imagine our minds are all over the place but we’re going to try and remain positive!”
VOD, or Hepatic veno-occlusive disease, is somewhat common among children who have undergone stem cell transplantation as part of the recovery process.
According to the American Cancer Society, VOD, or Hepatic veno-occlusive disease, occurs when tiny veins and other blood vessels inside the liver become blocked. It happens only in people with allogeneic transplants, and primarily in those who received two types of drugs, busulfan or melphalan, as part of their post-cancer recovery.
VOD can be more common in older people who had liver problems before the transplant, according to the ACS. It can result in liver failure and death. The disease’s reported incidence in children who have undergone stem cell transplantation is between five and more than 60 percent, according to Medscape.
Still’s mind was understandably away from football when the diagnosis came, but the team allowed him to stay on the practice squad to ensure that he’d have health insurance to provide care for Leah. Leah’s subsequent fight against cancer became a huge story last season when the Bengals donated more than $1 million to pediatric cancer research based on sales of Still’s No. 75 jersey.
Devon, who is entering his fourth season with the Bengals, has stayed by his daughter’s side at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia throughout the team’s organized team activities.
To honor Leah’s strength and Devon’s devotion to his daughter, the two will be honored with the Jimmy V Perserverance Award at the ESPY Awards in July, ESPN announced Monday.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
