**6/1/15 UPDATE**: Devon Still took to his instagram on May 29th: “I need some prayers sent up for Leah tonight! We hit a pretty serious complication from the stem cell transplant called VOD. They caught it early so hopefully it gives the doctors a better chance of stopping it from getting aggressive. As you can imagine our minds are all over the place but we’re going to try and remain positive! #LeahStrong #WaitingForTheDayEverythingReturnsToNormal”
Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle Devon Still, who has been publicly fighting for his daughter Leah and her rare cancer, took to Instagram on Tuesday to relay what he called the best news he’s ever received.
According to his Instagram post, based on her latest MIBG scans, she is showing no signs of disease activity. He says:
“That moment you get the best news you’ve ever received and don’t know what to do so you just flex!! We got Leah’s MIBG Scans back tonight and the doctors told us they didn’t see any active disease in her body!!! We still have to wait for her MRI and bone biopsy results later this week. But the doctors feel very optimistic about them because of the results from today. So for now we celebrate!!! #LeahStrong”
Still’s young daughter, Leah was diagnosed last June with Stage 4 neuroblastoma, a kind of pediatric cancer. Since then, she has undergone surgeries to remove a cancerous tumor from her stomach, as well as other rounds of treatments that included chemotherapy and stem-cell treatments.
MUST READ: How Devon Still’s Daughter Battle Started…
Leah’s plight became one of sports’ feel-good stories last fall. In September, her father made national headlines when he was added to the Bengals’ 53-man roster after having been originally cut by the team at the end of training camp. Days after he was cut, Still was signed to Cincinnati’s practice squad. He only spent one week there before being activated to the 53-man roster in Week 2. He went on to play 12 games last season, collecting 19 tackles.
When they signed him to the practice squad, the Bengals were able to continue providing health insurance for Still, providing him the ability to have her medical care completely paid for. At the time, he had been told her medical expenses would cost close to $1 million.