SPRINGDALE, Ark. — With the help of the Springdale Fire Department on Thursday, 11-year-old Adam Leach had the opportunity to hang out with some of the city’s bravest, and he fit right in.
“This kid, he has really fought, and he's shown bravery through his journey trying to get better,” Springdale Fire Department Public Information Officer Captain Justin Pinkley said. “Not just for himself, but for his family as well, and, I mean, for everything that that kid has gone through, I mean, it’s a great day when I could see a smile on a kid's face like that.”
During the day-long visit, Adam had the chance to eat lunch with the firefighters at Firehouse Subs, ride in a firetruck, and tour the training facility where he was able to help hose down a building.
“He lives for this,” Adam’s mom Kelly Leach said. “I mean, at home, he lives as if he's one of the guys. He's a rookie. We tell him he's a rookie right now, but he loves it.”
In the years leading up to this, a day like this might not have been possible for Adam.
When Adam was just five years old, he began having constant seizures, causing him to spend days on end in the hospital.
The family, who is from Mountainburg, spent years trying to figure out a solution for the issue. They said it affected Adam for almost all of six years.
“Thousands of seizures, and on a good day, it was hundreds,” Kelly said. “If he had them every two or three minutes, that was a good day. He’s missed kindergarten to fourth grade. He has missed all of that because he wasn't able to do much, so now we're playing catch up.”
Kelly said that Adam had a severe form of epilepsy. She said 90% of Adam’s brain activity, even at night, would be in electrical status, never getting the chance to rest.
After numerous failed medical treatments, the family finally found a solution at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis. Kelly said a craniotomy was performed and doctors removed a tangerine-sized portion of Adams' brain.
“From the moment he woke up from surgery, it was as if it was a nap,” Kelly said. “He never had another seizure and today marks 18 months of seizure freedom, so this is a celebration.”
Pinkley said that he had met Adam during National Night Out, an annual community event between members of the public and law enforcement. Pinkley said that the Springdale Police Department had invited the fire department to come and was able to learn of Adam’s story.
Then, Pinkley said, he knew he had to invite Adam to the department to check out the various stations and training facilities.
“He is a fighter, and that's being a firefighter,” Pinkley said. “You gotta have bravery. You gotta do stuff that you're uncomfortable with doing sometimes, to help the public out.”
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