- April 17, 2024
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All it took was a consistent tummy aches and shoulder pain for the Bear family's entire life to change.
After multiple trips to the hospital, antibiotics and numerous professionals telling Amanda Bear that wasn't anything overtly wrong with her daughter, Lyla Bear, a final trip to the emergency room in March gave her the answer she was never expecting.
Her 5-year-old had high-risk, acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
"I didn't know what to think," Amanda Bear said. "It didn't seem real, like a bad dream."
Amanda Bear, who's husband is a pastor at Tomoka Christian Church, said they spend the next 10 days in the hospital, and it was really rough on her young daughter who didn't know what was going on.
"None of us were expecting it," she said. "We were scared and that made her scared. Plus there were like 9,000 people hanging over her and prodding and poking her. That's just scary in a little kid's eyes."
Currently, Lyla Bear is in second phase of her treatment therapy, and her mother says that even though she has her moments, her daughter has been very strong.
"She's been a champ," Amanda Bear said. "On certain days it's hard for her to express it. She'll be upset and not be able to explain why. But despite everything, she's a very happy kid."
It's her ability to maintain her happy attitude that has made her the inspiration for Camp Brave, Oasis Church's summer kids camp that teaches kids how to be brave no matter what the circumstance. Though the church's camps typically raise money for missions, this year they wanted to spotlight and serve a local kid who was being very brave.
"Every year we think of something that our kids need to know," said Kids Director Meagan Scharmahorn. "With everything going on in the world, we want our kids to know how to be brave."
Over 150 kids will participate in the weeklong camp that will raise money for Lyla Bear and her family.
"It’s been amazing to see the outpouring of love and support from people we don’t even know," Amanda Bear said. "Lyla continues to show love and happiness and that’s what God wants us to show people."
Meet Oasis' new pastor!
Dr. Marcus Buckley started was greeted with a tropical storm for his first week as Oasis Church's new pastor. But he's from Ormond Beach, so the insane weather didn't scare him off.
"It's very rare that you get to go home," he said. "A lot of people at church, I grew up with. It's great to be back in Ormond Beach.
Buckley has three kids, all who he convinced to call him "Doctor Dad" for exactly one week.
