Puppy is best medicine for sick boy

SPANISH FORK — Earlier this year, 7-year-old Drew Burks had to watch from the window as neighborhood children played in his back yard.

Under normal circumstances, he would've joined the fun, but bone cancer kept this spirited boy to the inside rooms of his house and Primary Children's Medical Center, where he routinely is treated for his cancer.

For any other young boy, the sight of his buddies romping in the sunshine might be a painful experience. But there's no self-pity on Drew's part.

That's because he has a special friend to keep him company — his pug puppy, Chuggles.

"The No. 1 thing that makes me happy is to see Chuggles," Drew said as the loyal pug sniffed around the living room of his house.

Chuggles wandered into Drew Burks' life in made-for-TV fashion, like the tales told on Drew's favorite Disney Channel programs. Two characters face their separate struggles, meet each other and then together overcome their hardships.

The only difference between the Disney shows and this story about a boy and his dog is that this one didn't come to an end after the last commercial break. This puppy love is still playing out — and its chapters are far from being over.

First, there's Drew, an energetic boy who loved to run and play on the dirt hills near his home along 320 North in Spanish Fork. In late April, Drew began to limp and complain of pain in his right leg, mother Jacque said. X-rays revealed what appeared to be a tumor on his femur, and doctors later confirmed Drew had osteosarcoma — bone cancer.

Over the past few months, he's undergone rounds of chemotherapy and a massive surgery. The chemotherapy wreaked havoc on his body, and his blondish brown hair began to fall out.

Then in September, doctors removed the tumor and 19 inches of Drew's femur. They then implanted an endoprosthetic in his leg to replace the bone. The prospects of such an intensive surgery would frighten anyone — adult or child — but dad Mike Burks said his son was ultimately the one who decided to go ahead with the procedure.

"Our son is brave," Mike Burks said.

Prior to the surgery, a physical therapist advised the Burks family of the rigors of physical therapy that awaited their son and encouraged them to find incentives to help him fight through the pain he would endure.

They knew what would motivate him immediately — a scrunchy-faced pug.

"We told him, 'As soon as your leg can bend to 130 degrees or extend to 0 degrees, we'll get you a pug,"' Jacque Burks said.

The promise worked like a charm. When Drew went into surgery Sept. 6, he was in high spirits. "I'm ready to get earning my pug," he said as he wheeled himself toward the operating room.