Amarillo, TX - An unfortunate circumstance has changed one local soldiers fight for American freedom into a fight for his own life.
Cody Lane said going into the Navy was the noble thing to do. However now, that journey is being put on hold.
Cody's grandfather, Richard Gaskill remembers it like it was yesterday...
"He's a great kid," Gaskill said. "He grew up right here, his mother is a single mom, his dad hasn't been around much. It wasn't that long ago I was picking him up right here at Lakeview school."
Today that young grandson has dedicated his life to protecting our freedom.
"[He] went through boot camp, got stationed in Bahrain on a mind sweeper, the USS Gladiator."
Cody enlisted in the Navy in 2013 right after graduating from Canyon High School. He began his duties aboard the USS Gladiator until one day an unfortunate accident changed his life.
"At first I hit my head on the ship, and you know they did a CT scan and determined I had a fracture in my neck so I was in a hard collar for a bit," Cody Lane, said. "And shortly thereafter, I started not feeling well. You know my gums started to swell and my mouth started to bleed pretty bad, and so I told my doc about it and he took me to the E.R. They ran a bunch of tests and what not and that's when I found out I had leukemia."
Cody's leukemia is severe, and is currently undergoing extensive chemotherapy every day. If you ask him though, the only thing this brave soldier wants is his mom.
"She's supposed to be here today, which is going to be awesome. Which, there's nothing like the support of family."
Because Cody's cancer is severe doctors said he may need a bone marrow transplant, which his younger brother Tyler has volunteered to donate.
Cody is currently still listed as active duty, but his orders right now are to get better.
Borger, TX