NATCHEZ &8212; Here&8217;s one way to spell charming: T-O-N-Y.

Ernest Anthony &8220;Tony&8221; Fields IV is 2 years old, certainly charming and plenty precocious.

Playing his drum set &8212; and he does play and not beat randomly as most 2-year-olds would do &8212; he listens to Ray Charles or some other recording star and catches the rhythm. Or he creates his own rhythm; no accompaniment needed.

Parents Tony and Kim Fields, both musicians, have marveled at their child&8217;s talents since he began picking up pencils to beat on pots and pans.

&8220;He is talented for his age,&8221; his mother acknowledged modestly.

An only child, little Tony was diagnosed with leukemia seven weeks ago. His parents were stunned.

&8220;It was Sunday, January 29,&8221; Kim Fields recalled. &8220;The world has not been the same since then.&8221;

A simple runny nose turned to scary symptoms that sent the parents to the emergency room, where blood tests came back abnormal.

&8220;They put him in the hospital and said he had a little bit of pneumonia,&8221; Kim said.

Then, within an hour, the parents learned little Tony would require a blood transfusion.

The next day, Monday, the pediatrician recommended that Tony go to University Medical Center.

On Tuesday, they heard the diagnosis. &8220;It was devastating,&8221; Kim Fields said.

Father Tony Fields said he was numbed by the news. &8220;I knew that something was wrong when they sent us to Jackson. I&8217;ve been in this situation before when I lost my father to lung cancer.&8221;

This was his 2-year-old son, however. &8220;You cannot be prepared,&8221; he said.

The parents remained for three weeks in the hospital with Tony as he received treatment. Now treatments in Jackson are once a week.

Meanwhile, the family has been overwhelmed with support from churches, friends, organizations and complete strangers who have reached out to them during the past few weeks.

One example of support is planned for Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m., when Mississippi Blood Services will park its mobile unit at Pilgrim Baptist Church on Wilson Road for a blood drive in honor of little Tony.

&8220;It&8217;s wonderful to live in a community that opens their arms like this,&8221; Kim said. &8220;We&8217;ve had calls, cards, money, healing Scriptures &8212; anything that would uplift us.&8221;

At first, the treatment caused little Tony to become melancholy and subdued, she said. Within days, however, he began speaking out.

&8220;He&8217;s very verbal,&8221; his mother said. &8220;When he looked at the nurse and said, &8216;don&8217;t take my sock off,&8217; I knew he was better.&8221;

His hair has thinned slightly, and he gained weight while taking steroids. Otherwise, &8220;he hasn&8217;t missed a beat,&8221; Kim said.

He was a student at Grace United Methodist Church playschool and misses his friends there, she said.

Doctors told the parents that at some point he will be able to return to the playschool even thought the chemotherapy treatments will continue for several years.

The best news is that the cancer now is in remission. &8220;The doctors said they were very pleased to see no cancer in his body,&8221; Tony Fields said.

Both parents are educators. Kim is music teacher at Frazier Primary School. Tony, minister of music at Zion Chapel AME Church, is on sabbatical to complete his master&8217;s degree in education administration at Jackson State University.

In addition to getting their lives back to normal, including getting little Tony completely healed, the parents hope to meet other parents who have had children with cancer.

Faith has been important to the Fields family. And, as Tony said, &8220;every little moment is even more precious now. Things you took for granted become more important, just watching him wake up in the morning with that great big smile.&8221;

Kim Fields is a planner. She is organized. But she found with the illness of her son that plans do not matter, she said.

&8220;It&8217;s God&8217;s plan. You just go day to day. We thought our baby had a cold, pneumonia at the worst, but never believed he would have leukemia,&8221; she said.

Still, they feel blessed. &8220;Even in the worst times, he has done so well,&8221; she said of the child. &8220;All the while, God was working miracles.&8221;