Luke’s Fight Against MGZL (Mediastinal Gray Zone Lymphoma)

Meet my amazing, 20 year old nephew, Luke Bayona! Luke is the 2nd youngest of 9 children and grew up in Chesapeake, Virginia. He is finishing up his junior year at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, and is on track to graduate early with a 4.0 GPA, majoring in Biomedical Sciences. He became an EMT last year and has worked hard to help pay for school as his twin brother and his sister are also in college. His plan is to attend Medical School after graduating. Luke approaches everything he does with focus and determination and recently crushed the MCAT with an almost perfect score. Luke has always had a huge heart for others, and he is passionate about his future in medicine and the impact he will be able to have in people’s lives. What he did not know was that he was about to undergo an “in person” course. He has had a strong faith in God since he was little, but what he was about to face would put that faith into action like never before.

When Luke went home for Easter break, he had lost around 20 pounds and was experiencing fatigue, night sweats, swollen lymph nodes, and some congestion. He had just assumed that it was related to his busy schedule studying and working, and not having time to eat enough while on campus. He went to the doctor the following week (April 9th) and a chest x-ray and labs raised concerns for lymphoma. He went the next day to UVA for a CT scan which revealed a 17cm x 7cm mass in the middle/left side of his chest cavity and lung (that’s approximately 7 inches x 3 inches). Luke’s parents drove to Lynchburg to be with him for surgery to remove one of the lymph nodes for testing, expecting to get results a few days later. But no one expected what happened next.

During what should have been a routine, out-patient biopsy, Luke stopped breathing and went into cardiac arrest. His doctor and other members of the medical team at the surgery center jumped into action and were able to resuscitate him and rush him to the nearest hospital. As the story of what happened has unfolded, everyone present that day felt “the hand of God” in that room and on Luke, bringing him back to life. Even before hearing a diagnosis, Luke was already a walking miracle. That experience alone has impacted so many people in ways we could have never imagined, and we have been blessed to meet some of the amazing people who God used that day to save Luke’s life. His doctor and the amazing nurse who stepped in to help that day visited him in the hospital each day after “the event,” encouraging him and his family that “he has already touched so many people,” and “he is marked for great things.” We are so thankful that the Lord saved him and we know that this new piece of his story will make him an even more powerful messenger of the love and saving grace of Jesus Christ.

Luke spent 3 days in the ICU, fighting a pneumothorax (collapsed lung) from the CPR. A chest tube was placed to reinflate his lung and he was hooked up to every monitor imaginable since no one really knew what caused “the event.” They were able to get him transferred to UVA Health University Hospital, where he already had an appointment scheduled with their oncology team.

On Friday, April 26th, after a second biopsy, this time under local sedation, Luke was diagnosed with Mediastinal Grey Zone Lymphoma (MGZL), a very rare but curable form of non-hodgkins lymphoma. He immediately began chemo the next day. A few days earlier, the team connected Luke with Virginia Fertility to preserve some sperm as chemo can cause infertility. As a 20 year old college student, Luke definitely never thought he’d have to be thinking about and paying for storage of samples to ensure his future family.

Luke’s treatment will be a total of 6 rounds of chemo – 5 days of 24 hour infusions, to be done in-patient, every 3 weeks. It is a more aggressive regimen of chemotherapy but so far, Luke is tolerating it well. His oncology team is confident that this treatment will be effective and we are confident that God has saved Luke for so much more and what the enemy meant for evil, He will use for good. We know that our God is bigger than anything we will face and We Won’t Be Shaken!

This page was created because so many of you have reached out and asked how you can help. Our biggest request is for you to join Team Luke with your prayers. Please pray for strength for Luke, that his body will fight not only this cancer, but against any side effects of the chemo. Luke does have health insurance; however, the deductible and the on-going co-insurance responsibility is significant, from the 1st biopsy to the countless x-rays and CTs, to the nearly 3 week hospital stay at the time of this post (the copay for the 1st biopsy alone was almost $3,000). He already has many medical expenses not covered by insurance, hotel expenses for family to be with Luke all this time, and he will have long-term future expenses as he travels from Chesapeake to UVA every 3 weeks to receive his in-patient treatments.

Whatever way you feel called to come alongside Team Luke is appreciated beyond measure. Whether it is your prayers or your donation, it will make a meaningful difference in Luke’s life and will bring him one step closer to full recovery. We know Luke’s story has only begun and we are thankful for all the angels who have stood over him and all of you who are standing with him.

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Isaiah 41:10

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”