Mom Knew Something Was Wrong: Memorial Care Listened
Both medical assistants Christine Bowling and Tracy Fitzpatrick knew immediately that something was wrong when nine-year-old Connor came into Memorial Care in Lincoln with his mom, Crystal Powell.
“He came in with a walker,” Christine said. “He could barely make it from our lobby down the hallway to the exam room without stopping because of the pain. We asked his mom if this was normal, and she said not at all. It was heartbreaking.”
After falling off a set of bleachers at school a couple of weeks earlier, Connor had been checked repeatedly at emergency departments and children’s hospitals. No broken bones. No concussion.
But Crystal knew something was going on. Her active son who loved the outdoors and playing baseball was sidelined and experiencing excruciating pain that increased with every passing day.
“We went to five different doctors at bigger hospitals,” she said. “They are telling me he has pulled muscles, he’s faking it, he’s trying to get out of going to school. I knew in my gut something was going on. I live in Lincoln, so I tried Dr. Londe.”
Kevin Londe, DO, is a family medicine physician who practices at Memorial Care in Lincoln. He and Tracy were concerned immediately when Connor couldn’t find a comfortable way to sit on the exam table. He couldn’t lie flat without screaming in pain. He wouldn’t let Dr. Londe even touch his hip.
“It was obvious this was not his normal. This was not him,” Dr. Londe said. After reviewing Connor’s medical records, he ordered X-rays. Soon after, the radiology team at Lincoln Memorial Hospital (LMH) called with concerns about suspicious spots on the images and recommended an MRI.
The Memorial Care team moved quickly. Although the MRI was initially scheduled for a week later, Christine contacted the Radiology department at LMH to explain the urgency of his condition and advocate for a quicker scan. Radiology found an opening within two days.
The MRI revealed cancerous lesions that had already metastasized. Additional testing confirmed widespread disease.
Even after the diagnosis, the Memorial Care team continued advocating for Connor. On his day off, Dr. Londe spent an hour on the phone with Crystal explaining the MRI results and discussing next steps. Christine immediately began coordinating the transfer of Connor’s records to the St. Jude Midwest Affiliate Clinic at OSF Children’s Hospital of Illinois in Peoria.
“Connor was so happy that someone finally listened to him,” Crystal said. “Dr. Londe asked him questions and actually listened to his answers. He investigated where it hurt.”
When specialists in Peoria initially believed Connor had a less aggressive disease, Dr. Londe remained concerned. Comparing earlier imaging with newer scans, he believed the cancer’s rapid progression warranted additional testing. He urged Crystal to continue pushing for answers and contacted the Peoria team himself to advocate for more diagnostic work.
After three weeks, the oncologist ordered a biopsy and called Crystal with devastating news. Connor had Stage 4 Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma, a highly aggressive cancer. She wanted Crystal to take Connor to St. Jude in Memphis that night.
“Unfortunately, we were right,” said Dr. Londe about the final diagnosis. “I wish we weren’t.”
Connor was entered into a 10-month clinical trial at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis. Today, he is responding well to treatment, and the areas of cancer in his body have been significantly reduced as a result. In early July, he was given a “hall pass” to go home and visit friends and family.
He and Crystal returned to Memorial Care in Lincoln to see Connor’s favorite care team. When the clinic learned he would be coming by, everyone pitched in to create a “basket of fun” for him to take back to Memphis: card and dice games, magic tricks, Avenger plush toys, a comfy blanket, Lego blocks and books.
Crystal says Connor tells his friends on the cancer unit at St. Jude that if they want to see a really good doctor, they need to go see Dr. Londe in Lincoln, Illinois.
“People often assume you have to go to a big hospital to get answers, but in our case, it was a small-town doctor who took the time to listen and acted quickly,” she said. “So often these kids don’t survive because of how late they catch it. Dr. Londe was advocating for Connor even when he wasn’t his official case anymore. Without him, we might not have gotten to St. Jude as quickly as we did.”
Dr. Londe and his team loved catching up with Connor that weekend in July and seeing him smile, knowing they played a role in his ongoing journey.
“Even though Lincoln is a small community, we deliver high-quality care,” Dr. Londe said. “It wasn’t just me. Tracy raised the flag right away after she saw Connor come in with a walker. Christine made sure we acted exceptionally quickly to get tests done. That’s just how we operate.”
Connor, now 10-years-old, is back in Memphis to continue treatment. He will be done in February 2027. Crystal says he’s excited to get back to Washington Monroe Elementary and finish fourth grade with his friends. That’s what the team at Memorial Care in Lincoln wants for him, too.
“Connor has all of our hearts back here,” Tracy said. “Our wish for him is to be cancer free and live a long and healthy life. But first we want him to be able to be a kid again, run and play with his friends and just enjoy his childhood.”
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