NEW ORLEANS — For Shon Singleton, there is one sound he wants more than anything in the world: his six-year-old son Braxton’s voice.

Instead, the family is facing one of the most frightening medical battles imaginable.

Braxton was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer in August 2026. Within roughly two weeks of the diagnosis, the young boy underwent five surgeries as doctors worked to remove as much of the tumor as possible.

What followed has left his family devastated.

According to his father, Braxton initially woke normally after his first operation. But after a subsequent surgery to remove more of the tumor, the child developed posterior fossa syndrome, a neurological condition that can occur after certain pediatric brain tumor surgeries.

The condition can affect a child’s ability to speak, control eye movements and coordinate motor skills. Doctors have told the family that recovery can sometimes happen quickly, but in other cases it may take weeks or months. Some children may never completely recover.

For Braxton’s father, the silence has been especially painful.

“We have not heard his voice since then,” Shon Singleton told Unfiltered with Kiran. “The hardest part is not hearing his voice.”

The family says Braxton currently cannot form words or communicate normally. His father described hearing little more than his son crying out in pain.

Yet the surgeries are only the beginning of what lies ahead.

Doctors were able to remove much of the tumor, but Braxton is expected to undergo chemotherapy and radiation. The family was still waiting to learn exactly what treatments and dosages would be required when the story was published on August 21.

A Family Trying to Hold Everything Together

While Braxton remains in the hospital, his father has spent days by his side, sometimes going several days without seeing his other two children, 10-year-old Gracelyn and 5-year-old Hollin.

The family lives in Morgan City, Louisiana, and relatives have stepped in to help care for the children and support the parents through the crisis.

Singleton said he wants his other children to know they are still deeply loved, even while the family’s attention is understandably focused on Braxton.

“This two weeks already feels like it’s been two months,” he said. “It already feels like it’s been two years.”

The family’s financial burden is also growing. Braxton’s father’s employer, Off the Hook, has organized a fundraiser to help with medical and living expenses. The restaurant company also announced that 10% of sales from its restaurants between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. on August 26 would be donated to the family.

A Birthday the Family Is Praying He Can Reach

Perhaps the most heartbreaking detail is that Braxton is supposed to celebrate his seventh birthday on August 30.

Before his illness, his family had been thinking about how to make his birthday special. But after the surgeries and the onset of posterior fossa syndrome, those plans were put aside.

Now, his father has a much simpler wish.

He hopes his little boy will regain his ability to speak and move. And he hopes Braxton can be awake and responsive enough to celebrate his birthday.

For a family that was suddenly thrown into a medical crisis, that birthday has become a symbol of hope.

Braxton’s story is a reminder of how quickly a normal family life can change when childhood cancer strikes. In just a matter of days, a six-year-old went from an ordinary doctor’s visit to repeated brain surgeries, a devastating neurological complication and the prospect of months of intensive cancer treatment.

His family is now asking people to keep Braxton in their thoughts and prayers as he begins the next stage of his fight.

For his father, the greatest wish is simple: to hear his son’s voice again.

Please keep Braxton and his family in your thoughts and prayers as they face the days ahead.

Source

Unfiltered with Kiran — “It’s the hardest thing we’ve ever been through”: 6-year-old with brain cancer has had five surgeries in two weeks, by Melissa Moore, published August 21, 2026.