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Family Thankful For Accident That Uncovered Boy's Tumor

PEQUOT LAKES, Minn. (WCCO) -- As strange as it may sound, a northern Minnesota family is thankful for a terrible accident that sent their young son to the hospital.

It all started with a game of golf. Two-year-old Jairden Loukota was playing with his brothers in their backyard in Pequot Lakes.

What happened next likely saved his life.

"It was an everyday day. It was something they'd done 100 times before," Megan Loukota said.

It was this game of golf that sent Jairden to the house in tears.

His other brother accidentally swung and struck him in the stomach.

"His eyes started to flutter and his lips got really white and he just went completely lethargic," Megan said.

Without that game of golf ending with a freak accident, Jairden may have never gone to the hospital and doctors may have never discovered his dark secret.

"They basically came in and just said 'Your son has a massive liver tumor,'" Megan said.

It was a cantaloupe-sized tumor that burst when he was hit. When Jairden came out of a marathon surgery, he had asked one question for hours.

"He kept asking me 'Mom, who is that guy in the corner? There's a guy in the corner. There's light,'" Megan said.

His mom told Jairden it's his angel; the same one that seems to have been with this family since the beginning.

"He's really been a trooper throughout this whole thing and tolerated everything really well," Megan said.

Doctors got the entire tumor but there are still a couple more hospital trips ahead. The brother who once felt so bad for hurting Jairden feels a lot better.

"He probably saved his life," said Jake, Jairden's father.

So while it's been a crazy ride these last two months, the Loukota's say it's when they became confident that there's no such thing as a coincidence.

"We'll just go through this journey and when we get to the end of it, see where our next one leads," Megan said.

Jairden has his last round of chemotherapy in two weeks at Children's Hospital. Doctors expect him to make a full recovery.

If you'd like to help his family or follow his story, click on the links below.

CaringBridge: Jairden Loukota
Megan Loukota's Blog: Purple Dancing Dahlias

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