Celebration bells are ringing at Texas Children's Cancer Center

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- There is the saying that every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings. For those at Texas Children's, every time a bell rings, a patient has completed their cancer treatments.

Nolan, 4, has a lot to smile about this week. He's getting to ring the end of treatment bell at the Texas Children's Cancer Center. But the road getting here has been a challenging one. His parents, Misty and Greg, remember what it was like the day they were told their son had Lymphoma.

"It was like a punch in the gut. So scary, you get nauseous," Misty recalled.

"It's a bit of a surreal moment. It's like you're watching it from a dream state," Greg said.

Not knowing much about the disease, Misty and Greg had a lot to learn about their son's long road to recovery.

"Lymphoma is a cancer of the lymphatic tissue. It often at times presents in the lymph nodes," Dr. Zoann Dreyer said.

Dr. Dreyer is the Co-Director of the Long Term Survivor Program at Texas Children's Cancer Center. She says Nolan's diagnosis was rare for his age.

"He was diagnosed with Lymphoma about two years ago so he was quite young at the time," Dr. Dreyer explained. "Lymphoma is a fairly common childhood cancer, but not in such very young children so that's a little bit of a rare presentation."

Nolan started his journey fighting the disease through treatments and it wasn't too long before they saw results.

"The Lymphoma went into remission, within just a few weeks," Dr. Dreyer added.

Even though Nolan was in remission, it was still a long battle to fight. Recently, his scans came back clear. The good news is something his parents have been hoping for.

"He gets to ring the bell today and we're super excited. Because it's that journey that you're just waiting for and we feel so blessed we get to be here," Misty said.