‘It was surreal’: Local 2-year-old celebrates end of chemotherapy

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – A local 2-year-old has been battling a brain tumor for more than a year.

Now his family says they are thankful for the community’s support as they celebrate being done with chemotherapy.

It was a simple bell ring marking a big milestone: the end of chemotherapy for 2-year-old Webb Waddell.

“Everybody came down to celebrate and it was surreal,” said Laura Waddell, Webb’s mother.

It’s a battle he has fought his whole life.

“There was something that was off from the very beginning, Webb struggled to eat. He wasn’t taking in the amount of food that he should have been taking in,” said Laura. “This has been something from basically the word go. And it’s not anything that anybody prepares you for.”

At first they thought it was a problem with his intestines, but it was something bigger.

“In February of 2022, we had an instance where he woke up from his nap and his right eye started kind of moving back and forth, like from side to side, which is incredibly alarming, because that’s not what your eyes supposed to do,” said Laura.

It was a brain tumor, followed by a stroke.

“We were one of the only families that was being treated for that particular type of illness. And so it was very isolating and very, very scary,” said Laura.

But, with the help of social media, she found community.

“There were two local families specifically that have had children that have dealt with something very similarly to what we were dealing with that kind of created this growing Facebook community,” said Laura.

The page she started documenting their journey consists of more than 1,000 followers.

“Without that kind of support, I don’t know that we would have been a way to try to navigate the darkest days that we experienced,” said Laura.

After 14 months of chemotherapy, now Webb spends most of his days at home playing with his toys.

While he does still have his tumor, his family still has hope.

“Even though we were told to prepare for the worst possible outcome, I think that it’s important to never give up hope,” said Laura.

It’s a message she’s passing on to other families fighting similar battles.

“If you are going through a situation where you feel like you’re alone, I promise you’re not. This is a really, really, really large and helpful community,” she said.

If you want to keep up with Webb’s progress you can follow his journey on the Team Webb Facebook page.

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