Erlanger: Healing. Teaching. Leading.

Two weeks after twins Morgan and Logan McBryar celebrated their second birthday, their mother, Tammy, noticed unexplainable bruises and a rash on Morgan’s skin. She took him to the ER at T.C. Thompson Children’s Hospital where a series of tests revealed the two-year old had leukemia. Under the medical supervision of pediatric oncologists, Drs. Eric Gratias and Manoo Bhakta, the toddler immediately began chemotherapy treatment.

Less than a month after Morgan’s diagnosis, Logan developed the same symptoms. After another trip to the Children’s Hospital ER, Tammy's fears were confirmed; her other son was also diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Chemotherapy for the young twins started exactly four weeks apart — and the rare circumstances surrounding the twins’ diagnosis began to attract worldwide attention.

Research within the international medical community indicates that less than five sets of twins worldwide have been diagnosed with ALL within a month of each other in the past 125 years. Moreover, reports Dr. Bhakta, “the specific type of leukemia that the McBrayer twins have was only recognized in the mid 1990’s.”

“This means they are likely the only set of twins in the world this age, diagnosed this close together, being treated for this type of ALL right now,” according to Dr. Gracias.

For Tammy, the past year has been filled with ups and downs. The treatments suppress her boys’ immune systems, making them more vulnerable to illness and infection. Much of her daily routine involves maintaining different medical schedules to insure her twins receive the right doses at the right time — and making weekly commutes from her north Georgia home to Children’s Hospital in Chattanooga for treatment.

“The doctors and nurses at Children’s are so great,” says Morgan and Logan’s grateful mother. “They are all there when you need them, giving me a shoulder to cry on when times get too hard. Everyone is so caring, loving and understanding; they treat us like family.”

“We want to thank everyone that has helped us through this hard time in our life,” says Tammy, who has been assured this form of leukemia is highly curable and that her boys have a strong chance to live a long and healthy life.

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