| Ben's Fantasy |
| "My Fantasy Came True" |
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| On February 20, 2001, Ben Sellers was a healthy 14-year-old boy in the 8th grade. He was active in off-season football at Atascocita Middle School and Division II Soccer for the Texas Heat Wave playing goalie. |
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| It all started with leg pains, which were diagnosed as shin splints. After a few weeks of pain, fever set in for five, long weeks. Weekly blood tests were being taken along with x-rays. The blood results showed there was some type of infection but were not conclusive. The pain got worse each week to the point he could not walk down the stairs at home. He was in so much pain and his legs and feet were going cold. His family was told to rush him to Texas Children?s Hospital immediately on Monday, March 27, 2001. |
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The first doctor to see him was the Head of the Infection Disease Department at the hospital. After several interviews and tests, there was no sign of infection or disease. Next, they were turned over to the Rhematology Department of Doctors, where the doctors were determined to find out what was causing Ben to be so ill, especially Dr. Maria Perez. |
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| After several ultrasounds and dopplers, Ben was getting worse and worse by the hour. A decision was made to send him to St. Luke?s Hospital on March 31, 2001 for further tests to determine why he did not have blood flow in his legs and feet. |
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That is the day Ben?s life changed forever. After the first test, it was determined that both of his legs were totally blocked with blood clots. The wonderful doctors came to them immediately and gave them the bad news. They gave them a chance to kiss their son and give him a hug before he was off to the cath lab to save his legs. After many hours of trying to strip his arteries, nothing was working. Then came in a wonderful cardiovascular doctor, Dr. George Ruel, who worked on Ben until 1am on Saturday morning. It was both of his legs again. At this point, they were able to save only his right leg and had to wait 24 hours to determine what was to be done with his left leg. On April 1, 2001, the doctors came in to ICU and informed Ben they could not save his left leg and amputation was scheduled for first thing the next morning. The first thing Ben had to say was, ?this is not an April Fool?s joke?. |
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| He was been a wonderful trooper through all of this. It takes a lot of courage for a 14-year-old boy to deal with such a life-threatening situation. |
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| The disease Ben has was not confirmed until after the amputation. He had a rare disease called Polyarteritis Nodosa, which affects the medium arteries in a person?s body. |
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| After two months in the hospital, Ben was allowed to go home. He was presented with the Ben Seller?s Courage Award at his 8th grade award ceremony. |
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Ben has had many ups and downs over the past 2 ? years. He was home bound from school for 9th and 10th grade, but this year he has been able to attend Humble High School and |
| able to enjoy watching his old teammates during the football and soccer seasons. Ben is also a member of VICA, a computer club at the New CATE technology building. |
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On November 23, 2003, Fantasy Kids granted Ben his wish to see the Texans play at Reliant Stadium. A limousine picked up Ben, his mother, and best friend, Cy Sittig, from his house. |
| A goodie bag of Texans keepsakes was awaiting for him in the limo. They were dropped off at the front gate of Reliant Stadium, where the Texans were playing the New England Patriots (now Super Bowl Champs!). Ben agreed that it was the most exciting game of the year! Toro even met with Ben for pictures. |
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After the game, they were taken by limousine for a relaxing ride through Houston and on to Humble for a nice dinner at the Olive Garden. It was a wonderful fantasy for a child who had been through so much. ?Our biggest thanks to Kim and Todd Hanson and all the others that support their efforts!? Roberta Sellers |
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