The Clayton community recently lost a special member. On August 16, 2014, Henry Stephen “Stevie” Landau IV passed away from complications in fighting a battle with leukemia at the age of 12.  Stevie has been part of Clayton since 2009, and attended Glenridge Elementary starting in 2nd grade. “He was a genuine friend to literally everyone he ever met,” Stevie’s father, Steve, said.

Stevie was first diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) in 2008 when he was 6 years old. He began his first round of treatment immediately. Cancer treatment, which kills the malignant white blood cells, also kills normal, healthy, dividing cells in the bone marrow. Stevie was hospitalized for treatment at Cardinal Glennon for three years, three months and 21 days. After this brave fight, he was cancer-free for a year and seven months. However, when Stevie was 10 years old and in the fifth grade, the leukemia came back.

Leukemia, which means “white blood,” is a type of blood cancer that begins in the bone marrow, the soft tissue located in the bones where blood cells are produced. White blood cells, known as leukocytes are used by the body to fight infection and other foreign substances.

After his relapse, Stevie struggled through another two and a half years of chemotherapy. During this tough second round of treatment, Stevie was also diagnosed with a blood infection, caused by his lack of healthy white blood cells to fight infection. Despite antibiotics, Stevie passed away shortly after his diagnosis from this infection.

“While Stevie was getting treatment for chemotherapy, he was tired and weak and experienced a great deal of nausea and vomiting. These symptoms are common while undergoing chemotherapy,” explained Dr. Keiko Hirose, a doctor at St. Louis Children’s Hospital and a friend of the Landau family.  She also said, “Despite all of these hardships, Stevie acted as if everything was normal.”

However, for such a young boy, things were far from normal.  The fact that treatment compromised Stevie’s immune system meant he had to be isolated. As a result,  Stevie and his family decided to move him to Mercy Hospital instead. There, isolation was not required as part of treatment.

“To Stevie, that was like jail,” Jennifer Landau, Stevie’s mother, said. “He’s not one that you can keep still. He wants to be involved, he wants to visit other children.”

Jennifer herself is a Clayton alum. She attended Meremac Elementary, Wydown Middle School, and graduated from Clayton High School.

Stevie had something to teach everyone he met.. He was a kind, generous brother to Jimmy, 11 and Matt, 6. He was also a positive influence to other children, especially at the hospital. He made a point of helping any new kids at the hospital by talking to them and spending time together. He was great at relating with other kids about any aspect of cancer treatment – losing hair, feeling ill, different chemotherapy drugs and losing your appetite.

“Children were drawn to him. His natural calmness, maturity, intellect, humor and contagious smile were some of his best traits.  His positivity and love would be shared with anyone nearby,” his mother said.

Stevie’s battle with cancer was not something he shied away from. Good friend, Lila Taylor, remembers Stevie being asked by some Wydown students why he didn’t have hair. “He simply answered, ‘Because I have cancer,’” Taylor said.

“That sent the eighth graders into one of those, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry, you’re so brave’ moments. Then Stevie started to explain his cancer to them, how he had had the same cancer in third grade and how this was now a recurrence. That is how Stevie was with all he met. His wonderful attitude made this terrible situation bearable for his family and friends.” Taylor shares.

“He was a positive influence to everyone, at anytime. He was really a friend to anyone,” his mother said. “He wanted to attend Washington University and become a physician.”

Stevie’s dream was to become a pediatric oncologist. , Since his original cancer diagnosis, he had always wanted to work in a medical field with kids. He even wrote about a paper on his condition in the third grade. “Stevie would have been a wonderful and caring physician,” his mother said.

Stevie’s friends were always important to him, and provided him comfort throughout his battle with cancer. They still continue to support Stevie through selling #NeverForgetStevie t-shirts to donate to the leukemia cause. Right after Stevie’s passing, a group of his friends set up this project as they wanted the memory of Stevie to live on. So far, their t-shirt sales have raised over $600.00. The money raised will go to the Landau family to help cover the costs of the medical bills.

The t-shirt sales were not the first charitable effort to help Stevie.  Last year, the Wydown community wanted to contribute and help Stevie in his fight with cancer.  Rachel Gasawski, a health teacher at Wydown, got her advisory involved. It was the middle of winter, and they thought selling hot chocolate would be a smart idea. They decided to title it “Kids with Cancer.”

“My advisory combined with Mr. Meier’s advisory to sell hot chocolate before school one morning to raise money,” Gasawski said. “If I remember correctly, we sold each cup for $1 and raised almost $400.”

The theme of charity at Wydown will continue. “I sat down with Stevie’s parents and shared this info with them and encouraged them to think about where they would want the money to go in memory of Stevie,” Liz Tucker, a counselor at Wydown, said. “We plan to do our ‘Give Back Night’ this year around the charity that they choose.”

A close family friend of the Landaus, Shawnna Hoffman, created a website, dedicated to Stevie, his family and his cause. “The reason I thought about doing the website was because my family has been through the same sad process of a child with cancer” Says Hoffman. “The food,flowers and company is a great but when the burial/services is over the reality of life sets in.”

All of the money raised through the website is also for Stevie’s family to pay the medical expenses from Stevie’s treatment. “I knew if I could even raise $500 it would be $500 they did not have before to use.” Says Hoffman.  Old pictures, entertaining videos and information about Stevie and his cause are all over the website.

“No matter how he was, he always looked out for his little brothers.  He chose to be happy and accept things he could not change.  Stevie’s inspiration will live through many for a lifetime.” Says Hoffman

Positivity, personality and bravery are some of the traits often used to describe Stevie Landau.. Though Stevie fought a long and tough battle, he enjoyed the little things in life – relationships, laughter and joy. Both the Wydown community and the Clayton community as a whole can learn from the ideals that directed Stevie’s life until the end.  Stevie’s devastatingly young death shows the preciousness of life. .  It is up to the Clayton community to learn from him and embrace life.  Thank you Stevie.