PINE RIDGE — Zeke Twiss is his mother’s miracle baby. 

Twiss was diagnosed with leukemia when he was six-years-old, followed by three years of chemotherapy, and nagging side effects that prevented him from playing sports as a kid. 

Twiss, who is now a freshman at Lakota Tech High School, has been in remission since 2020 after years of overcoming obstacles to reach this point.

“It is inspiring to see how he’s gone through so much just to be here,” said Jaimie Twiss, Zeke’s mother. “I tell him every day ‘You are my miracle baby’ and I tell him ‘I hope you understand that and you don't take it for granted that you are a miracle. There’s a reason you are here on this earth.’ ”

In December 2016, Zeke was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia, a type of cancer of the blood and bone marrow — the spongy tissue inside bones where blood cells are made.

Zeke, who was in kindergarten at the time, was taken to the Pine Ridge emergency room one day after teachers informed Jaimie he was ill and looked yellow at school.

Zeke’s hemoglobin levels were low, and he was rushed to the hospital in Rapid City. Zeke received more tests and was rushed to the hospital in Sioux Falls, receiving two blood transfusions on the way. 

“I literally could not believe everything that was happening,” Jaimie said. “I later found out his hemoglobin was 2.5, and two and below is actually fatal. Most kids that have a 2.5 or two, they will go to sleep and they just don’t wake up. It was kind of a miracle that we caught it when we did.”

On Dec. 8, 2016, two days before Jaimie’s birthday, Zeke was diagnosed with leukemia after more tests in Sioux Falls. 

The whirlwind of events and the devastating news crushed Jaimie, a single mother. 

“It was heartbreaking,” Jaimie said. “It was absolutely so crushing. Nobody ever wants to hear those words, ‘Your son has cancer,’ and immediately you are crying. You are upset. Because there’s nothing as a parent that you can physically do to help your child.”

Zeke says now he was too young to fully grasp the magnitude of the situation, and “it didn’t really scare me, but it scared my mom a lot,” Zeke said.

Soon after the cancer diagnosis, Jaimie and Zeke made frequent trips to Sioux Falls for chemotherapy treatments. Initially, they made visits every weekend and eventually they were spread out to every 10 days.   

“We made so many frequent trips,” Jaimie said. “We considered Sioux Falls our second home. We were there I think for almost the first year. It was every Friday. We would go on a Thursday, we would do therapies, Friday, Saturday, come home Sunday, be home through the week and then repeat the whole process for probably close to a year.”

Zeke’s recovery compounded matters. After undergoing chemotherapy, he had neuropathy (a condition that damages the nerves) and used leg braces to walk. He received a lumbar puncture (a procedure where a needle is inserted into the lower back to collect a sample of cerebrospinal fluid for diagnostic testing) and complications followed after that. 

Zeke was diagnosed with spinal meningitis (an infection of the fluid and membranes around the brain and spinal cord) and later had an allergic reaction to methotrexate (a medication used to treat various conditions, including autoimmune diseases and certain types of cancer). 

Zeke was diagnosed with methotrexate (MTX) toxicity, a serious condition that can occur with both low and high doses of the medication. The condition created two symmetrical holes on the top of his brain.

“He got just about every little side effect that they were worried about him getting,” Jaimie said. “He got just about every single one when he started going through chemo. It was constantly just one thing after another.”

Zeke and Jaimie spent time at the Ronald McDonald House Charities in Sioux Falls, where he was exposed to other sick children. But didn’t comprehend the reasoning behind the visits. 

“He had kind of had a hard time in the beginning,” Jaimie said. “He honestly didn’t know that he was sick. I don’t think he realized. We would go to the Ronald McDonald House and we would talk about all the sick kids we saw. I was like ‘You know you are sick, right?’ He didn’t quite understand it.”

When Zeke was seven-years-old, he helped organize a reservation-wide pop-tab drive to raise money for the Ronald McDonald Houses of South Dakota. 

When Zeke was eight-years-old, Make-A-Wish South Dakota gifted him a go-kart and he celebrated his birthday at Flags N Wheels in Rapid City. Zeke actually wanted a Ford pickup, but was told he was too young. 

“I wanted one of them big nice trucks, but I was too young,” Zeke said. “So I was thinking about something else. I was thinking about a side-by-side (utility terrain vehicle). But they said I had to be a certain age to get it. So I decided to go with a go-kart.”

In 2020, after a series of setbacks and multiple trips to Sioux Falls, Zeke finished his chemotherapy. The moment was commemorated when Jaimie’s miracle baby rang the hospital’s bell to mark the end of treatment. 

“It was unbelievable,” Jaimie said. “I don't even have the words to express how much that day meant. It was beautiful. He was giving everybody high fives as he ran down the hallway to go ring the bell. There were so many people rooting for him. I think everyone’s cup was overflowing that day.”

“It was a great achievement and a big milestone in my life,” Zeke added. “It just felt like a good achievement.”

The bout with cancer also prevented him from participating in sports and other activities as a child. 

“He couldn’t play outside like a normal kid,” Jaimie said. “He couldn’t do anything because he had a port. Because obviously his health wouldn’t allow it anyway. But the moment he found out he was able to, he tried everything.”

Fast forward to 2025, and Zeke is finally able to participate in activities like other teenagers. He plays football for Lakota Tech, where is a 6-foot-1, 160-pound wide receiver/defensive back. He also qualified for the AAU state wrestling tournament last spring, and has rode bulls and broncs during the summertime. 

“It was fun, and I enjoyed it,” Zeke said about participating in sports. “Even if I was a bit behind everybody in sports. Because I started later than them, and I am working my way up to get to where I am now.”

Jaimie said she’s in awe watching her son play sports, considering the hurdles he’s overcome to reach this stage and says “he has no fear.”

Zeke still has lingering effects from the chemo, including attention deficit disorder (ADD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). 

But Zeke is enjoying life as a teenager, and being his mother’s miracle baby. 

“I feel great,” he said. “I feel the best I will ever be.”

Lakota Tech's Zeke Twiss (32) plays football for the Tatanka. (Dale Pine / Courtesy Photo)