Kevin Barrett 
Sydney Uselton, a student looking to get input from her friends regarding a dress she was considering for her upcoming formal dance, sent photos of herself in the dress to the wrong person. Instead of the photo going to one of her peers, it ended up being sent to a man named Tony Wood, who lives in Tennessee. Sydney is also from Tennessee.
A father of six children, Tony Wood actually replied to the text he received from the young woman. However, he was cautious in his response. Speaking with Daily Mail Australia, he said that he believes society puts a lot of pressure on young women to look a certain way and have a certain body build.
He said that he tries to teach his children to be who they are and not be too concerned about what other people think. Even so, his young daughters are already trying to “fit in”. Tony thought Sydney might need a bit of reassurance.
Therefore, Tony replied with a picture of his children and their opinion on the dress—telling Sydney that she looked stunning. His wife wasn’t home, he explained, so she was not able to share her opinion.
He added that the kids giving a ‘thumbs up’ would go over better with Sydney than ‘thumbs up’ from a bald, overweight, middle-aged guy.
Five of Tony’s six children were giving ‘thumbs up’, but one child was missing. That’s because Tony’s son Kaizler, who is four years old, was in the hospital. The child was receiving chemotherapy in order to treat his leukemia.
The photo ended up on Twitter, and people started to notice the missing child. A GoFundMe page ended up being set up—the intent is to raise money for the little boy’s cancer treatment.
In late 2015, it was discovered that Kaizler had Pre-B Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.
So far, over $15,000 has been raised, and over 600 people have donated to the cause.
Tony was understandably surprised by the support his family is receiving from strangers on the internet. He wrote a message on Facebook saying it was “nuts” and “crazy”—he is obviously using those two terms in the best possible ways. “Wow” indeed.
Little Kaizler would later be in the position where he could offer his own ‘thumbs up’.
Tony said he was just trying to make Sydney’s day—which is why he had his kids offer the ‘thumbs up’ and tell her she looked stunning. All of the sudden, he says, his children are famous on Twitter. He describes it as “pretty cool”, and added that it is all a larger blessing than people could ever know.
One donor wrote that the internet will make sure that Tony can focus on what matters, and expressed hope that little Kaizler would recover fully and quickly.
Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, also known as ALL, is characterized by a large number of immature lymphocytes developing. Because it is an acute leukemia, it tends to progress quickly. In fact, if not treated, it can be fatal within months—or even weeks.
Initially, it is typically treated with chemotherapy, with the hope that the chemotherapy will result in remission. Other therapies include radiation and stem cell transplantation.
Symptoms of the condition are variable, but may include fevers, bone pain, easy bruising, exhaustion, dizziness, anemia, loss of appetite, generalized weakness, testicular enlargement, and enlarged lymph nodes.
While blood tests may indicate the possibility of having the condition, a conclusive diagnosis of ALL is done via a bone marrow biopsy.
There are a number of risk factors in regard to developing Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. There are certain genetic syndromes that carry an increased risk, such as Bloom syndrome, Fanconi anemia, Kostmann syndrome, and Down syndrome.
Obviously, there are environmental factors that exist that may make one more likely to develop ALL. However, more research needs to be done, and the subject is still being debated. It is has been proposed that x-ray imaging may increase the risk, but there’s no conclusive evidence at this time. Electromagnetic radiation may also be a risk factor.
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