GROVES, Texas — A routine dental surgery led to a rare diagnosis, and now, a Southeast Texas community is rallying behind one of their own.
Tae’Von Perry and his mom went to the dentist to get all four of his wisdom teeth removed on December 28, 2022. The visit was only expected to last an hour, but Perry’s gums began badly bleeding after the surgery ended.
"They kept giving me gauze and, like, trying to stop the bleeding, but it just wouldn't stop," Perry said. "So, every time I would get up, I would pass out."
During his final fainting spell, Perry lost consciousness for five minutes and was rushed to Baptist Hospital in Beaumont.
"They brought me to Baptist hospital in Beaumont," Perry said. "We were there. We did blood work and all of my numbers were very, very low, and it was, like, low to the point where it was concerning," Perry said
From there, he was taken to Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston.
"Nobody wants to think that they have cancer," Perry said. "So the entire time I kept asking her, I was like, 'Do I have cancer? Do I have cancer?' And she was like, 'Well, we don't know the results yet.'"
Perry tested positive for a rare form of leukemia.
"But of course, when you first hear the word cancer, you think the worst," Tyy Tran, Perry's mother, said. "So, as a mom, that was the first thing that I went to, I'm going to lose my son. There were no words to describe how I felt at that time"
Perry is getting treatment and his doctors are optimistic about his recovery, but his family needs help to pay for his medical bills.
"The chemo medicine itself is, like, thousands of dollars, so that's one of the expenses that we are, you know, seeking help for, the pill itself and then the IV fluids," Tran said. "It's just because we don't know how long we will be here for."
On Saturday, March 4, 2023, Perry's family and friends will host a benefit fundraiser in his honor at Encounter Church in Groves from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be a multitude of events including:
- Link Sale
- 10 a.m. until supplies last
- $5 for a link, chips and a drink
- Silent Auction
- 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
- Winner to be announced at 3 p.m.
- Cake Walk
- 11 a.m.
- One ticket for $5
- Five tickets for $20
- Washer Tournament
- 11:30 a.m.
- $30 per team
- Car Show
- 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
- $30 entry fee, registration at noon
- Winners to be announced at 4 p.m.
- Bounce house
- All you can bounce for $2
- Dunking Booth
- Three throws for $5
- Mechanical Bull rides
- $5 per ride
- Face painting
- Accepting donations
Perry likes to sing in his school's choir, is active in his church and enjoys spending time with family and friends. He got cleared by doctors to attend Saturday's benefit.
"Come out and just get to know me. Get to know my story. Get to know who I am," Perry said.
Groves church hosted benefit for Port Neches-Groves High School student who battled rare form of cancer
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