After Cancer Journey, Louis White Returns to Cook Children’s with New Joy

In his nearly 31 years at Cook Children’s, Louis White Jr. has interacted with thousands of patients and families in his role as security services ambassador with the security services department. His positive disposition embodies the Cook Children’s culture, present in his every greeting.

In January, he returned to the Fort Worth campus after a year spent battling multiple myeloma, an uncommon blood cancer that affects bone marrow and causes symptoms such as fatigue, bone pain, fractures and appetite changes.

Louis is 6-feet-tall with a bold voice, big smile and constant catchphrase “peace and love” that follows him wherever he goes. He aims to carry this message through his work every day. He enjoys visiting patients at various departments, bringing musical instruments and songs to lift their spirits.

“Everybody is going through a storm,” he said. “Everybody’s got battle scars. We don’t know until we talk and reveal ourselves to each other. We can help each other so much by showing grace and showing love.”

After working security at a local department store, Louis made his way to Cook Children’s in April 1995 and his kindness has been a welcome comfort for patients, families and staff alike.

“Louis is really always leaving a little drop of positivity, happiness and hope,” said Eric Hubli, M.D., Surgeon-in-Chief, Medical Director, Craniofacial and Cleft Surgery. “I think that’s what the Promise is about. We’re here for the kids holistically, with hope, care and love. I think as Louis travels around our community, he gets that message across.”

Treatment & Recovery

His presence is well-known: kind, warm and personable, so when he went out on medical leave in February 2025, his absence was noticed. The hallways that he usually visited were quieter; his wagon, filled with crafts and activities for patients, sat undisturbed.

Louis traveled to his sister Anita Douglas’s home in Slidell, Louisiana in May 2025. Starting in July 2025, he faced five rounds of chemo and a stem cell transplant.

“I knew that God’s got me,” Louis said. “He shielded me from the worries and thoughts of ‘what’s going to happen?’ and he covered me. My energy was focused on God, family and friends.”

Louis had one major round of chemo, which the doctor called his “new birthday.” He didn’t remember that week, but his sister knew he was in pain. Douglas said he was still showing kindness by talking to his care team about Bible scriptures and handing out small wooden crosses.

“That new birthday restored my soul,” Louis said. “God restored my soul.”

As he recovered, Louis required 24/7 support, so his family in Louisiana banded together to make a schedule of his sisters, in-laws, nieces, nephews and cousins to always have someone by his side over several months.

“He really had such a village behind him with his friends and family,” Douglas said. “I think it really gave him the push because it was not an easy journey.”

Douglas’s mailbox was flooded with hundreds of cards and gifts. She asked, “Who are all these people?” White told her how he knew each person from Cook Children’s.

Every morning and night, Louis prayed on the phone with his closest friends, one of whom was James Carson, program specialist with Cook Children’s Behavioral Health.

“His hope, his confidence, his faith, his belief -- that never changed,” James said. “His body was going through stuff and he was losing weight; oftentimes when we go through something like that, the joy comes down some, but his rose to another level.”

James and Louis have been best friends for more than 27 years. When Louis came home in November 2025, James says he will always remember when they reunited and embraced. James knew he was strong and healthy again.

“My brother’s home,” James said. “He’s a fighter to the end. He’s a warrior.”

Returning to Fort Worth

Louis returned to Cook Children’s in January. At this stage of his recovery, he takes precautions to not get sick and wears a face mask as he continues to build his immune system.

“I feel really blessed that we have him back,” Dr. Hubli said. “I told him, ‘Don’t overdo it and be careful with yourself.’ I think he is and will be.”

The next goal? To visit with the patients in Hematology/Oncology as soon as his immune system is strong enough.

“I can’t wait for them to continue to teach me and receive me,” Louis said. “It’s important for us to walk with the families to keep hope and love alive and keep the humanity there.”

James calls his journey a miracle.

“Louis’s story is a story of miracles, a story of hope, a story of how the power of God intervened into something so tragic and it turned out to be something so beautiful,” James said. “That’s Louis’s story, it really is. It’s his story and it is his glory.”

Before his cancer journey, he was still known for his kindness. Now, Louis says this “helped make me a better person to serve our community.”

“I was a good man then, but now I’m a better man,” Louis said. “All of us have gifts that we have learn how to recognize and give back to the community and the world. I’m learning that one of my gifts is the ability to connect and I’m grateful for that gift he gives me.”