Outside the 'South': Four-year-old cancer patient says Heaven is for real
HAYES, LA (KPLC) -
Do you believe Heaven is for real? Many people believe without seeing. But a Hayes family believes after seeing through the eyes of a child.
Four-year-old Casen Broussard looks like a typical little boy, jumping on the trampoline with his big brother, Lane. But Casen's life has been anything but typical. He was diagnosed with neuroblastoma in April 2014 when he was just 2-1/2 years old.
Neuroblastoma is a type of aggressive cancer in children that comes from nerve tissue outside of the central nervous system. It usually occurs in the adrenal gland on top of the kidney, but it can be found anywhere along the spine.
Leading up to his surgeries, Casen began telling his family about conversations with Jesus.
His mom, Linzey Broussard, said they would see him appearing to talk to himself.
"We would ask him, 'Case, who you taking to?' (He'd say) 'Jesus. Talking to Jesus, Mom. Talking to Jesus Dad,' like (he was saying) 'really? Don't you already know this? Can't you see him?'" Linzey said.
His grandmother, Paige Myers, remembers a conversation before one of his surgeries."'My dad asked him if Jesus was there and he said yes and kind of leaned his head back and pointed behind him and said, 'right there,'" she said.
And following his surgeries, he told of heavenly experiences.
"He said 'I went up in the sky.' I said 'OK, who was there?' He said, 'Jesus, Father, and you know, the other one.' He described it in detail, what it looked like and what Jesus looked like and what God looked like," said Linzey. Family members can think of no explanation for what Casen has told them other than that he experienced something extraordinary.
"I truly felt he had been there and experienced it with, no doubt. The things that he said couldn't have been things that he would have heard from anybody,"said Myers.
On demand, Casen shares only briefly what he remembers.
"Who did you see in Heaven?" "Heaven people," he said.
Casen talks about getting wings and having to return them.
His grandmother.Paige, gets him to explain asking, "Jesus told you you had to come home? And how did you come home? What did he do?"
"Pushed me and I jumped and I flighted," he said.
Paige clarifies, "He pushed you and you jumped and you flew home. And when you flew home, what happened to your wings?"
"They flew back," said Casen, who added his wings are "put up" in Heaven.
Family members have videos of when he first started telling his memories and they're convinced Casen experienced something very special.
"It's made our whole family closer to God. It's made us all believe a million times more than we ever would have," said Linzey.
Casen had a bone marrow transplant following his surgeries. His extensive treatments finished in July. His last scan in August was clear.
He goes to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis in December for a check-up.
Family members believe their faith in God and love for each other has carried Casen through so far.