Community rallies around Ammon family after their 4 year old diagnosed with terminal brain cancer - East Idaho News
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Community rallies around Ammon family after their 4 year old diagnosed with terminal brain cancer

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Watch a video of Colt Weekes in the video player above. | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com

AMMON – Despite all that 4-year-old Colt Weekes has had to deal with in his short life, he’s happy to enjoy every minute he has left.

Colt was diagnosed with a severe case of scoliosis at age 1. Doctors said he had an 84 percent curvature in his spine. For the last three years, he’s been in and out of Shriner’s Hospital in Salt Lake City for treatment to help straighten out his spine.

Through constant care and treatment, Colt’s condition continued to improve. By January of 2019, the curve was down to 56 percent. But a short time later, Colt’s condition took a turn for the worst.

“He’d get really lethargic. He’d vomit and not be interested in anything. He loves ‘Paw Patrol,’ but he didn’t even want to watch ‘Paw Patrol.’ He’d lay down on the floor and just look the other way,” Tom Peterson, Colt’s dad, tells EastIdahoNews.com.

Doctors initially diagnosed Colt with acid indigestion, but when medications did nothing to solve the problem, Colt’s parents knew something else was wrong. They took him to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center for a CAT scan and the results were sent to Primary Children’s Hospital for analysis. It wasn’t long before Colt’s family heard the unexpected news.

“They did an MRI and it came back that he had Medulloblastoma brain tumors. (The doctors performed) surgery the following morning,” Peterson says.

Surgery went well, but during a check-up two weeks ago, doctors told Colt’s family the cancer was resistant to treatment. Colt had about three weeks left.

Devastated, Colt’s parents brought him home to make his final days as comfortable and happy as possible. Cezanne Allen, Colt’s mom, is determined to stay strong.

“I’m fighting right along with him,” she says. “Everybody else can break down, but I’m trying to be there for everybody. I have my moments, but (overall) I’m doing awesome.”

Friends and family immediately jumped in to action, and now the Make-a-Wish foundation will make one of Colt’s dreams a reality.

This Sunday, Oct. 27 at 11 a.m., Mayor Sean Coletti will visit Colt and issue a proclamation declaring him an honorary mayor for the week. Colt will then be escorted from his Ammon home at 3170 Central Ave. with a parade led by Ammon Fire Department and local police. The parade will end at the YMCA Indoor Sports Arena at 3500 S. Ammon Road, where a celebration of life will be held until 3 p.m. There will be food, bounce houses, face painting and tribute banners for Colt.

Colt’s family is inviting you to come celebrate and support him on his special day.

“Our only wish is to wear bright colors. We don’t want it to be a funeral. As bright as you can make it, that’s what we want,” Allen says.

“What I want everybody to know about Colt is that he’s a very caring, smart, charismatic, selfless child. He’s such a good big brother, and he’s my best buddy in the world,” says Peterson.

Learn more about Colt’s celebration of life on the Facebook page.

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