Having a child diagnosed with cancer is one of the worst nightmares a family can imagine, but it's a reality a local family is facing.
Less than two months ago, Groesbeck High School junior Remington Masters was living a normal life; going to school, and hunting and fishing with his friends.
In fact, just six weeks ago, Masters was battling for a football win on a Friday night with the Groesbeck Goats. Now, he's in a fight for his life.
When Masters started feeling sick and missing practices, his illness wasn't thought to be anything serious.
"He was sick and missed some school. He came back and practiced a little bit and then he got sick again.” Groesbeck head football coach Steve Hale said. “Then we got the word as a football team.”
Masters had more than just a cold or the flu-- he was diagnosed with lymphoma.
"He was a typical teenager," Remington Masters’ father, Keith Masters, said. "'That's not going to happen to me, that's not going to happen to me.' When it does it puts everything in perspective."
Scans showed a mass on Remington Masters’ chest, which isn't uncommon for lymphoma, but when the doctors began chemotherapy treatment, they found the situation much more complicated.
The cancer had created a hole in Remington Masters’ trachea.
"We have certainly seen cancers that invade into different organs, but to cause a hole in the trachea like this is an extremely unusual complication," Dr. Kala Kamdar, a pediatric oncologist at Texas Children's Hospital, said.
Doctors at Texas Children's said they have no idea what caused the rare complication and they've never seen anything quite like Remington Masters’ case.
"Remington has asked, 'What did I do to deserve this?'” Remington Masters stepmother Mandi Masters said. “We tell him, 'Nothing.’ God picked him for a reason and people will learn something from the work that God is doing with him.”
Remington Masters is in the pediatric ICU at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston.
He is on a ventilator unable to eat, drink or talk as the doctors work to treat his cancer and the hole in his trachea.
"Remi is going to have to overcome so much more than a touchdown deficit or a fumble," Hale said. "That's the one thing that I think God is teaching us, that life is precious, and we value every moment with him."
One doctor said while Remington Masters is a long way from a full recovery, there is hope.
"When he came in we were very, very, worried about him, mainly the way the disease was behaving. But we have seen some good progress over the past few weeks that he's been with us. So we are still hopeful, but it's a long road for him," Texas Children's Hospital Pediatric Otolaryngologist Deepak Mehta said.
Remington Masters won't be traveling that long road alone. He has the support of his teammates, friends and family-- all of whom are trying to stay positive during this very negative time.
"God picked Remington for a reason," Mandi Masters said. "God's got a plan for him. He's going to come through it. God's healing him every day. We're getting good news every day."
"Just be strong and you can overcome it. We're still on our road, but we will overcome it," Keith Masters said.
Keith and Mandi Masters haven taken time off work to live at the Ronald McDonald House in Houston to be close to their son.
They've asked for the community's prayers and donations.
There are also shirts available for purchase to support Remmington Masters and a fundraiser account at Farmer State Bank in Groesbeck.