TAMPA BAY, Fla. _ He didn't feel right.
In November of last year, Hunter Brady, from Tampa Bay, had been experiencing lethargy and general malaise. The 16-year-old chalked it up to not getting enough sleep.
But Hunter's condition started to get worse. He developed a low-grade fever, shortness of breath and aches and pains. The pediatrician initially diagnosed the teen as having a virus.
When his health began to seriously deteriorate in January, his family finally took him to the emergency room. He ended up being diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkin's lymphoma _ a blood cancer.
"We weren't aware at the time his right lung was collapsed and his left lung was 30 percent collapsed (which is why) he was having trouble breathing," Hunter's mom, Cheryl Brady, told WFTS.
"Everybody else's support helped me get this far. Without them, I don't know where I'd be. I just know I gotta keep staying strong," Hunter told the Tampa Bay TV station. "I'm being mentored by two pastors that told me God is always there and when he told me that I just went along with what he said and I got this far ... I'm doing good I'm going to beat it, I ain't giving up."
The young man is now undergoing chemotherapy, had a blood transfusion and had the fluid drained from his lungs and heart. He will also have radiation.
Seventeen of his classmates shaved their heads in solidarity.
A YouCaring site has raised $4,704 toward his medical care.
