McAlester 5-Year-Old Boy Gets Puppy For Make-A-Wish

A McAlester family is crediting faith and miracles for their son's health on Tuesday.

At five years old, Bradley Lawson’s already been through quite a journey. But now, he's in school and doing better than ever.

For Bradley's Make-A-Wish request, he asked for a Chesapeake Bay puppy and named her Gabby.

His parents Adam and Rachel say he wanted a dog to hunt with, and they've become best friends.

"Her eyes are blue like my eyes are blue,” Bradley said. "She’s my puppy."

If you meet him, he'd give you a hug.

He's silly as can be, full of energy, loves fishing, hunting and cheering on the Chiefs.

But his childhood has been anything but easy.

In October 2019, he got sick, so his parents took him to the hospital. The Lawson's would get news that would change everything.

"About 15 minutes after the cat scan, they said that he had a brain tumor larger than a lemon,” said Adam said.

Bradley was put into a coma and taken to surgery, but they had to stop because he was losing too much blood.

Around a week later, he was flown to St. Jude in Memphis where he'd start chemo. Adam went back to Oklahoma to get his two other sons, when Bradley's nurse called.

"She called and told me that he'd had a seizure and that the tumor had busted open. And they declared him brain dead that day,” Adam said.

Doctors said there was nothing else they could do. Bradley needed a miracle.

So, Adam and Rachel held onto faith and prayed.

"I told Bradley every day. I was like you keep fighting, I'm going to keep fighting,” Adam said.

And fight he did. He made it through the weekend and Bradley's condition improved enough to be part of an experimental treatment.

But his battle continued for months, at one point, weighing only 19 pounds.

He finally left the hospital last January, and doctors removed the rest of his tumor last summer.

But then, they found a few more. So again, Adam and Rachel started praying.

Just over a month later, the tumors were gone. Adam says doctors were shocked.

"I tell everybody that Bradley's been given to me twice. That God gave him to me twice,” Adam said.

Bradley's been cancer-free since last summer, now in his second year of pre-school.

He's still doing chemo, but his parents say he's thriving. He and Gabby are inseparable.

"They do everything together,” Bradley’s parents said.

His family is making the most of each moment in the everyday miracles.

"Everything. Everything he does he's not supposed to do, you have to enjoy. Because he wasn't supposed to be here,” Adam said.

Rachel says someday Gabby will be a therapy dog for Bradley to help him walk. She says Bradley's story is in medical journals worldwide.

The Lawson's are also planning on writing a book.