Maverick's Army: Community rallies to support Kila boy with rare disorder

After months of intensive treatment, 8-year-old Maverick Bench of Kila is right back where he was nearly four months ago — square one.

Since early July, Maverick has been in Denver receiving treatment for aplastic anemia, an extremely rare blood disorder that presents fewer than 20,000 cases a year in the United States. But those treatments hit a snag Wednesday as Maverick’s ANC count (a metric used to measure the body’s ability to fight infections), fell to zero for the first time since he received chemotherapy and radiation treatments upon arrival in Denver.

The news comes as Maverick’s body seems to be rejecting the bone marrow transplant he received three months earlier.

The family learned Thursday Maverick will have to have a second bone marrow transplant. Doctors will attempt to use the same donor; otherwise Maverick's father, Logan Bench, will be considered as a donor, though he's only a 50% match.

Despite the setback, Maverick’s family remains optimistic.

“The doctors are really trying. We are in the right spot with the right team working for us, but it is just a tough and complicated case. Everyone is doing the best they can, we are just on a roller coaster right now,” Logan Bench said. “Our hope is that he is going to beat this and we hope that he doesn’t remember any of his time in the hospital.”

Logan and his wife Colleen have been trading out spending time with Maverick, each spending three weeks in Denver before returning home to look after their other four children. Neither Maverick nor his brothers have been in the same room with both of them for months.

The nightmare situation began in April, when Colleen first started noticing Maverick developing unusual bruises. With all five children active in wrestling, plus the usual sibling roughhousing, Logan was not overly concerned at first.

“They’re just Montana kids. They’re all wrestlers, they lift weights with me and are out in the woods all the time, so bruises are not an uncommon thing,” he said. “After a month of arguing about it, I finally lined up all five kids and gave them each a little monkey bump on the arm to see if Maverick was the only one to get a bruise, and sure enough, the next morning he was the only one with a bruise on his arm.”

Maverick’s pediatrician was likewise not overly concerned when Logan brought Maverick in for a wellness check and bloodwork on the afternoon of May 14 before continuing the day with their usual weight training and wrestling practice. It wasn’t until the trip home that Logan got the phone call that all parents dread.

“We were headed home after a good day when the doctor called me in tears saying we needed to turn around and head for the emergency room and that oncology would be waiting for us there,” Logan said.

Unfortunately for the Bench family, the bad news kept coming.

When the doctors said they were testing Maverick for leukemia and aplastic anemia, Logan said he hoped for the anemia diagnosis, since he had never heard of it and knew how rough leukemia could be. Logan said he was relieved at first with the diagnosis, but the doctor soon explained the situation.

“She said no, leukemia was what we were praying for. I was baffled. I had read about leukemia and it sounded like hell,” he said. “She said they know how to treat leukemia, but aplastic anemia is where leukemia was at 40 years ago — there is so much they still don’t know about it.”

And so the battle began.

The first few nights were rough, with the doctors explaining they had no idea how Maverick had been able to stay so active despite his tests showing only 5 percent bone marrow production, meaning that Maverick was nearly unable to circulate precious oxygen throughout his body. The doctors said every night there was the real risk that Maverick would go to sleep and never wake up.

When Maverick was moved to Denver, the search began for a suitable bone marrow donor for a transplant, but the search was a tough one.

While all four of his brothers were a perfect match for each other, none were compatible with Maverick. Logan and Colleen were also not perfect matches, as was no one else in the family.

Finally, the family received word that a perfect match had been found and Maverick underwent the transplant. While things looked good at first, it would not last as Maverick’s body began fighting the new blood cells.

“It was a battle and Maverick always wants to win,” Logan said. “This was the one time we wanted him to lose and it just didn’t work out that way.”

As the battle continued inside his body, the anemia presented compilation after complication.

“Maverick has experienced pretty much every setback you could think of along the way. Anything that could possibly go wrong pretty much has and now we are having complications the doctors have never even seen before,” Logan said.

From abdominal pain and bloating to tiny blood clots affecting his brain, Maverick continues to fight whatever his body throws at him.

WITH EVERY day seemingly bringing something new, the family struggled to keep friends and family up to date with the latest news. To help, they started a new Facebook page to help keep everyone informed. They had no idea what it would become.

What was started for close friends and family soon expanded to include everyone that wanted to send their prayers and wishes for the family until, as of Wednesday, the group had more than 3,800 members. Well-wishers from around the country and the world have been sending their messages to Maverick and his family to help lift their spirits during this tough time as the Flathead community has rallied to show its support.

“It’s overwhelming trying to explain everything to everyone every day. It started as a way to keep friends and family informed, but along the way more and more people kept sending us friend requests wanting to support Maverick in what he is going through. It has been amazing,” Logan said. “It’s been pretty incredible that in this day and age where everybody hates everybody that so many people have come together to support our kid. It brings tears to our eyes.”

With fundraisers and bone marrow drives, the community has truly rallied to help support the Bench family in what has become known as Maverick’s Army.

“Maverick has always been my little Captain America,” Logan said. “He’s always been that kind of kid. He’s fearless, but respectful. Captain America was in the Army, so we decided to start calling his followers Maverick’s Army. They really have been the one bright spot in all of this. People have just been awesome.”

With the help of his father, Maverick combed through thousands of Captain America images and motivational messages to put together his Maverick’s Army T-shirts being worn by his supporters in the Flathead Valley and beyond.

The support continues to pour in, including a special video message from the Navy’s Blue Angels, a group Maverick dreams of joining one day. While Logan said the message was amazing, he said it was also tough to watch Maverick’s reaction, or lack thereof.

“Maverick is in so much pain that he doesn’t have the ability to enjoy much right now, so there wasn’t much of a reaction,” he said. “He doesn’t want to play video games. He doesn’t want to watch television. Right now, he would rather sit in a quiet room and stare off into space. It’s heartbreaking.”

The support continues for the Bench family as they contemplate their next steps in Maverick’s treatment. Gardner Auction will be hosting a special online auction Nov. 6-13 to help the family offset the rising costs of Maverick’s care.

“I don’t even want to think about it right now,” Logan said. “One transfusion costs $10,000 and he has been getting them daily since May 14. I have sold our boat and trailer and will continue to do whatever it takes.”

Whatever course the doctors take moving forward, Logan said he, Maverick, and the rest of the Bench family will continue to keep a positive attitude, but it is not easy.

“If you ever wanted to have a glimpse into hell, this is it. Having to watch my kid writhing in pain and agony, whimpering, while I am sitting across from him knowing there is nothing I can do, that’s hell,” he said. “But, we have faith and positive attitudes and he is going to keep fighting. All he needs is a chance.”

Reporter Jeremy Weber may be reached at 758-4446 or jweber@dailyinterlake.com.

How you can help:

• Gardner Auction in Kalispell will host a special online benefit auction Nov. 6-13 to help the family offset the rising costs of Maverick’s care.

Auction donations may be dropped off at The Edge Salon, 601 E. Washington St. or Doni Marie’s Beauty Connection, 20 North Main, at Kalispell Center Mall.

For more information call Sarah at 406-471-4306; Ellie at 406-270-6224; or Doni at 406-212-7534.

• The Columbia Falls Lions Club is hosting a virtual 5K race on Oct. 17 to help raise money for Maverick's treatment. The Lions club has partnered with SunRift Beer Co., Sacred Waters Brewing, Bias Brewing and Backslope Brewing to create the virtual race. All proceeds from the $25 registration fee will go directly to the Bench family. To register go to https://runsignup.com/Race/MT/ColumbiaFalls/