Parade marks celebration of life for Plano patients

Jude Cobler was diagnosed with leukemia on his fourth day of kindergarten last August, a day the Cobler family will never forget.

"His white blood cell count was 175,000 when it should be around 5,000," said Jude's father, Keith, who initially took Jude to the Children's Medical Center at Legacy. "Two and a half months of treatment and he wasn't responding to the chemo. The only chance of survival was a bone marrow transplant."

The news hit Jude's family hard, and sent them down a miraculous journey that joined two brothers and ended in a celebration of life in Jude's honor.

Jude was one of two Plano children selected as grand marshals for Children's Medical Center's 24th annual Holiday Parade on Saturday, Dec. 3. The nationally syndicated event is co-presented by Capital One Bank and Pizza Hut and draws more than 350,000 people to downtown Dallas every year.

This year the parade will also feature a special performance by Grammy-nominated, American Idol champion Jordin Sparks. Sparks will sing "The Cure," a song from her latest album, "Battlefield," which is the theme song for Children's Medical Center's original dramatic documentary series, "Children's Med Dallas," which aired on WFAA Channel 8 over the summer.

Fourteen-year-old Rachel Herrera of Plano will join Jude and the three other grand marshals in the parade. A stroke patient and classical ballet dancer, Herrera spent 57 days at Children's battling pneumonia, meningitis and other complications.

The parade's grand marshals are extraordinary in their own right for overcoming some seemingly overwhelming odds, and the parade has always been the hospital's way of celebrating their heroism with throughout the entire Dallas area community, said Betsy MacKay, vice president of public affairs for Children's Medical Center Dallas.

"Their desire to live and fight for survival and their ability to jump right back into childhood is really inspiring. They are representatives of the real gift of winning the battle," MacKay said. "To see them so happy and be able to participate in something so fun that lights up their faces, I think that's really the magic of childhood."

Jude's story of survival begins with his brother, Joshua. With their parents being of different ethnicities, the chances of finding a bone marrow match were slim to none, but Joshua was a perfect match. After weeks of "conditioning," or total-body radiation to destroy his own marrow, Jude was replenished with his brother's on Dec. 23, 2010.

"It was a huge blessing," Keith said. "[Joshua] was excited because he wanted to be the match, he's been in this since day one."

After the transplant, the Cobler family prayed that the marrow would be a success. Thanks to a dedicated hospital staff and prayer rallies reaching around the world, Jude persevered and left Children's in February a cured child who officially stopped all medications just one week ago.

"We are so grateful for everything that's been done. As a parent going through this, you don't know where to start. When you get the diagnosis, you're floored," Keith said. "Children's was great from the first doctors we met. I've never experienced anything like that in any hospital environment. We've developed some very good friendships and had lots of learning experiences through the entire thing."

Today, Joshua is still beside himself when he thinks back to the darkest days of his family's life, knowing they will now get to see his little brother riding high in a parade.

"It was hard for me. It was a difficult time," Joshua said. "I can't even get the words out. It's so great because back then I could never see any of this coming; all I could see was a dark tunnel. It's nice coming out on the other side."

As for Jude, the 7-year-old has enjoyed his second year of school and is thankful for being able to play outside again. Being in a parade is his way of celebrating those who were praying for him in his darkest hours, but mostly for the brother who made this parade appearance possible.

"I know that I have nothing to fear because God is by my side," Jude said. "My brother gave me a second chance at life, he's awesome and I love him."

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