‘Just give it all back’: A mother pleads after her terminally ill son’s seizure medication was stolen at the State Fair of Texas

A three-year-old boy’s emergency seizure medication was reportedly stolen at the State Fair of Texas in Dallas on Oct. 6, along with roughly $1,500 in bills. Both were in a purse. According to Fox 4, the boy’s mother, Kayla Price, had tucked the purse into the back of his wheelchair. She turned for a moment around 8 p.m. to help her older boy, and when she looked back, it was gone.

Price said the purse held two doses of a prescription nasal spray that her son, Devin Cervantes, uses to stop seizures. Insurance would not pay for a replacement, she said, and the cost is nearly $2,000. Price contacted Dallas police, who are asking anyone with information to come forward. To the thief she said, “I really wish you had it in your heart to return everything.” She added, “Just give it all back.”

Devin’s cancer is terminal, and he is now in hospice. His mother said the tumor kept growing after six chemotherapy cycles and 45 radiation sessions. He still enjoys smiling and dancing. The fair trip was meant as a rare outing because he had been feeling well that day. “Despite everything he’s going through, Devin is still the happiest little boy,” Price wrote on the family’s GoFundMe page.

Rescue nasal sprays and the missing doses

Rescue nasal sprays are used to treat seizure clusters, which are groups of seizures that happen close together. They are premeasured, a caregiver places the tip in one nostril, and the drug is absorbed through the lining of the nose. They are not meant for everyday seizure prevention, which is why families keep them on hand for emergencies.

Price said she feared what could happen if Devin had a seizure while the medication was missing. “I could lose everything because of someone’s careless act,” she said. Three days after the theft, he had a prolonged seizure, and she was still trying to replace the doses. NBC 5 described his tumor as a midline glioma, an aggressive type of brain cancer with no cure. Other Texas families have been in the spotlight lately, and a Texas teacher removed two students in a separate case.

Chris Bailey, a Dallas man who runs a community Facebook group, contacted Fox 4 after learning of the theft and gave $2,000 to pay for the prescription. Bailey said he sent the money and that Price took the prescription to a pharmacy right away. Price said the medicine bought the family “a couple more days, a couple of more weeks, hopefully.”

Bailey would like to see Devin in person and has something else in mind for him, which he called “A little early Christmas surprise.” A separate report said Price started the GoFundMe in July to help with the costs of Devin’s cancer care.